In Your Eyes I Found My World
by WrinaBlack
Summary: 'She could be useful to us,' Hermione reasoned. They all looked at her as if she had finally lost it. How could Bellatrix Lestrange be useful to anyone! Of course she could let her go to hell, the same hell Bellatrix had put her through. But she was Hermione Granger, she saw things others didn't. One small problem though, how do you possibly make an insane sadistic b**ch useful?
1. Chapter 1

All characters belong to my genius J.K. Rowling and the faces you imagine when you read them are the copyright of Warner Bros. I'm not making any profits other than maybe gaining a few nice readers.

CHAPTER:1

Because Plans Never Work

It felt good to breathe finally... Hermione thought. Even surrounded by huge piles of rubbles, their beloved Hogwarts half-ruined, it still felt good. Eighteen and already war heroes, she mused, standing between her two best friends looking out over the horizon.

No she had not forgotten the lives lost, the friends lying dead within the castle, the bodies still being recovered from under the concrete, she was not someone who would ever forget the price paid for victory... But after everything the three went through for the past year, even the morally uptight Ms. Granger agreed that they needed a few moments of breather. And she knew Harry and Ron agreed with her. That was why Harry had motioned them to follow him outside, and they had unquestioningly.

There were too many questions and the answers left them more stunned than ever, as Harry revealed the truth behind Severus Snape, Dumbledore's failed plan of restraining the Elder Wand and how destiny had ironically played its own little game making Harry the owner of all the three Hallows.

"So that means..." Ron ventured tentatively. "Yeah," Harry sighed. "The Elder Wand is mine now."

"What should we do with it?" Ron had tried and failed to keep the excitement out of his voice. Hermione turned at him incredulously. "We?" she asked pointedly. Ron immediately blushed and mumbled, "Just saying, its the Elder Wand, most powerful wand in the world; with that you will be invincible!"

Hermione could not stop herself from rolling her eyes. Now that she and Ron were together, she decided, that she would give him a crash course on how to grow up. And Chapter One was going to be 'how-to-behave-like-a-grown-up-friend-and-understand-the-limits-of-privacy-and-ownership'.

But before she could voice her plans, she saw Ron's expression turn into a mixture of incredulity and horror. She quickly turned back and mirrored the same expression, when she saw that Harry was trying to break the wand... The. Elder. Wand! She wanted to yell out and ask him to stop. Her nerdy mind going beyond useless power politics to being witness to the sacrilege of a hundred thousand years old artefact steeped in history. But she stopped herself, because that would be behaving exactly as Ron had, commenting on something that did not belong to her. And it was too late anyway... Harry had cleanly snapped the wand in two and smirking at his friends' twin expression, threw away the two pieces into the cavernous valley. She quickly hurried to be by his side, feeling Ron follow her.

And as they silently watched the wand lose itself into nothingness, Hermione stood speechless, as if only just realizing what a great human being she had for a best friend. A boy who had for no fault of his own been orphaned, chased throughout his teenage years, dragged into war and thrown to wolves multiple times, he, Harry had more right than anyone else to own the Invincible Wand, and what more he had the right to feel angry at the whole world and use the wand to attain even more glory. But then that was what made Harry Potter so special, so different from everyone else... Harry did not define glory with achievements... No, to him glory was the love he had for those he cared for and the love that they had for him in all their hearts. That was what Harry cheered. And honestly if this war had taught them something, it was that one became who they chose to become. And Harry had just made his choice, and the supreme indifference with which he had broken the most coveted wand in the world, had shown Hermione the amount of selfless courage and morality in the boy, a true Gryffindor. Destiny had chosen wisely, power after all was best served by those who never desired her.

With a smile on her face she went and stood beside her friend clasping his hands in her own. "You're a great wizard Harry, and I'm honored to be your friend," she whispered. He smiled at her and then she felt Ron coming up to her other side and she clasped his hands as well. he still seemed slightly perturbed by the fate of the Elder Wand, but as usual mutely stood by his friends and she loved him for that. Hermione suddenly had a feeling that if she was to stand in front of the Mirror of Erised right now, she would only see herself, because she finally had everything she could ask for, and it would really have been perfect, had it not been for all the friends they lost.

As if voicing her own thoughts, Ron mused a moment later, "I just wish Fred was still there though... and Lupin and Tonks..."

"And everyone else." Harry finished for him and nodded sadly. Hermione clasped their hands a bit tighter, her words getting lost in the lump in her throat. Harry noticed and cleared his throat. "So... you two... finally huh?" he raised his eyebrow. Both Hermione and Ron blushed.

"Umm... yeah actually... I mean... well" Hermione muttered.

"Ms. Granger rendered speechless?" Harry chuckled. "For this feat alone I should immediately be made Minister for Magic!"

"Oh, shut up," Hermione said in mock annoyance, which was made useless by the small smile gracing her face.

"You knew even before us mate, don't deny it," Ron defended. "And if you keep embarrassing us, don't complain when I start bringing up you and Ginny!" Harry's smile faltered a bit. Ron was quick to catch on though. "What is up with the two of you anyway?" Ron inquired, in a supposedly off-handed manner, but Hermione noticed a slightly accusatory tone behind it.

"What do you mean Ron?" Harry asked warily. Ron shrugged. "Well you broke up with her..."

"That was because Harry wanted to keep her safe... didn't you Harry?" Hermione answered before Harry could. Harry nodded. "I did not want to keep her bound, in case you know, I didn't get to return. Just tried to make it easier for her to move on." Harry said slowly.

"I doubt she could ever move on Harry," Hermione mused. "You were it for her ever since she saw you at King Cross for the first time all those years ago..."

"Yeah, did you know she told me 'Good Luck'... that was the first time anyone had ever wished me luck." Harry smiled fondly at the memory.

"Yeah, so now that you are not dead, what are you going to do?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Well, now that I'm back for good, I'll break the nose of anyone who dares to approach her." Harry said in a matter-of-fact way, earning grins from both his friends. But Ron's grin slipped almost immediately. "Just don't hurt her Harry. We will never get over Fred's loss, and she will never break down in front of her brothers. She will need you mate, please just be there for her." Hermione had never before heard Ron speak in such a small voice before. She got up and pulled Ron into a one-armed hug. For a few glorious minutes their conversation had been so normal that Hermione had almost forgotten about the huge level of abnormality surrounding them. They had talked like normal teenagers discussing friends and love lives, and suddenly the mention of Fred's name brought it all back with a jolt. Soon she felt another pair of arms surround both her and Ron. Harry had joined them for their traditional group hug. "I know you both are a couple now, but I hope I'm still allowed to occasionally do this?"

"Oh Harry you will always be a part of us, The Golden Trio remember? One for All and All for One?" Hermione said warmly. Harry gave a grateful smile before turning towards Ron. "Don't worry Ron, I'll protect Ginny with my life."

Once they broke away, they stood around for a bit, Ron still with his right arm possessively around Hermione's waist, she allowed him knowing he needed her just like he had said Ginny needed Harry. She reached out and held his left hand with both her own and squeezed them, with a reassuring glance at him. Harry finally suggested they go back inside and see if they were needed, and the other two agreed. Hermione however noticed that Harry consciously or sub-consciously took the longer route from around the greenhouses; she knew he was stalling going inside and she couldn't blame him. Everywhere around them was eerily silent. But this was not the silence of sincere classes taking place, or lazy slumbering afternoons or peaceful holiday stillness... No this was the silence of the graveyard, the stunned absolute muteness of death, of loss, of pain. And after long moments Hermione could bear it no longer.

"Where do we go from here?" she asked aloud, more to herself than to her two friends and more to dispel the all encompassing silence than for any particular calculated reason. But then she felt the two boys gazing at her with surprised expressions, and sighed at the idea of explaining the obvious. Apparently somethings never changed. "We have missed out on our final academic year, and we have to start thinking about our future careers, not to mention also gather our scattered loved ones (her parents' faces shone in her mind). There's a whole new path to be walked, so what are your plans? How do you suppose we go about it?" she asked and waited for at least one of them to come up with something concrete. She was disappointed.

"Merlin's overworked balls Hermione... where were you when the phrase 'take a break' was invented? We just won a fucking war!" Ron said. Hermione scowled.

"Well if you look around Ron, we do not have the luxury of 'taking a break', not if you have any intentions of taking your NEWTS." She noticed Harry and Ron exchanging their usual 'she is barking' looks and it annoyed her beyond words. She was the brain that won them that war, one would say at least now they would change their standard first opinions about her absolutely logical 'so-what-if-a-little-strange' ideas. Apparently not.

"Well," she said hotly, "Harry of course has enough to never-to-have-to-work, but you and I on the other hand..." But Harry now cut her across, sounding enraged. "What you think I can live off inherited wealth, without a day of work and be happy about it? Do you take me for Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione spluttered at Harry's anger. "No no Harry, I did not mean it that way, I was just saying that... I mean well... you see that is the reason why we have to start planning our futures. We are already late by three-fourth of a year. And you do want to be an Auror right?"

"Yes, he does and so do I," interrupted Ron.

"But I won't plan anything Hermione," Harry said. "Has the whole war not proven that plans never work. There's some higher powers making plans... Yes, Hermione I know what I am saying (she had been giving him skeptical looks)... I'm just going to concentrate on the moment. And you're forgetting I already have the responsibility of a child on me. Teddy is my godson." he said, in what Hermione thought was a helpless tone. The whole idea was terrifying her friend. It would terrify her too if she was made responsible for a child, before she was barely adult herself.

"Don't worry Harry, Andromeda and Ted will take care of him good enough" she said softly, hoping to comfort him. "Yeah and Mum and Dad will help too. Remus was a friend, and Mum loved Tonks like a daughter" Ron added.

And just like that the atmosphere became heavy again. Hermione noticed they had finally reached the main doors, one of which was hanging off the hinges, while the other had a canon-sized hole in it. They stood at the foot of the steps and looked up, a collective sigh going up. Hogwarts was their home, and their home now stood half-destroyed. Strangely Hermione was the first to recover. "Let's go in guys and see what higher powers have in store for us," she said.

But before they could climb the stairs, the sound of rushing feet and a familiar voice shouting "There you are," made them stop and turn around. Percy, disheveled and still with a strangely disbelieving look in his eyes, and horn-rimmed glasses askew came running towards them.

"I have been all over looking for you three" he panted.

"What happened Perce?" Ron asked worried. "Is it George?"

"No, George is still catatonic." Percy said shortly. "No it is... it is actually Bellatrix Lestrange."

"She is dead." Harry immediately snapped.

"That's the problem. She is not." Percy grimaced.

"What are you saying Perce? We saw Mum blow her apart. She is dead."

"No Ron, go inside and see for yourself... Bellatrix fucking Lestrange is Alive... very much alive."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wanted to make this one chapter, but it sort of went on and on. So I've broken it into two. And I'm uploading both together as thank you for all the awesome reviews you wonderful people wrote. **

**All characters and situations are property of JKR and Warner Bros. I only own this particular plot, well sort of.**

Chapter 2

How Did You Do It?

If Hermione's brilliant mind was working, she would have been able to notice many things as they ran full throttle along the corridors. She would have noted that this was the first ever time she had heard Percy swear, she would have noted Parvati and Prof. Trelawny grieving over Lavender's body and hated herself for not being fast enough to pull Greyback away from her last night, she might also have noticed Neville standing in an alcove with Luna, with the latter crying in Neville's chest as the boy tightly wrapped his arms around the heaving girl, she would have noted that she had never seen any sort of emotion in Luna before... what could she be sobbing about?

But the problem was that Hermione Granger's brain was not working. From the moment she heard Percy say that Bellatrix Lestrange was still alive, her brain had taken two seconds to tell her two things... a. That they were screwed; And b. That they were royally screwed. After that the said brain had shut down completely.

After what felt like an eternity of running, they reached McGonagall's office, the doors of which were being flanked by a whole group of Aurors. Harry however ignored them completely and before anyone could stop him, threw himself on the closed door. But instead of the door banging open, the boy froze for a second and then suddenly got flung off and landed smack on his back a little distance away. Hermione squealed as she and Ron rushed forward to help Harry.

"What the hell was that?" Harry muttered angrily as Ron pulled him to his feet.

"Sorry Mr. Potter," they heard a voice speak. They turned around and found the Auror they knew was called Dawlish. "Kingsley's orders. We've had to jinx the door and set up wards. I'm sure you understand, given the nature of the person being held captive," his tone though professional was strained.

"We need to go inside," Harry shouted. "Now!"

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter, until Kingsley comes out and gives permission..."

"Harry, Hermione, Ron..." they heaved a sigh of relief when the burly form of Kingsley came out of the room. He motioned to his team to let them in, and stood back, making sure the door was open only to allow one person at a time to enter. With greater trepidation than they had ever felt, the three of them quickly pooled in followed by Percy and finally Kingsley, who quickly shut the door and cast a whispered spell.

There was a whole crowd of people in the room- Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, almost all the Professors and there in the corner, chained in heavy manacles sat the object of Hermione's nightmares- 'the' Bellatrix Lestrange.

And just like that Hermione's brain snapped back into action, moving at lightning speed from fear-to-panic-to-disbelief. Hermione tried to discreetly rub her eyes, making sure she was still awake. She had good reason to, ever since Malfoy Manor, she often woke up in cold sweat clutching her left arm, looking around widely for the dark witch. But no, unfortunately this time was worse than a nightmare. This was real, there sat Bellatrix in her usual jet black, though now slightly ruined, corset and skirt. Her absolutely wild hair still the same, piled up on top of her head and flowing down her back like curly waves, framing the entire of her torso. Her high heeled boots facing them as she sat with her shackled legs spread out. Bellatrix was staring at the ceiling, apparently completely indifferent of the existence of other people in the room. But even through it all Hermione could not help observing something she had never seen in Bellatrix's body language before... Defeat! But that, Hermione reminded herself, probably made her even more dangerous.

She quickly looked around, despite the room being full of people there was pin-drop silence. Bill and Mr. Weasley were standing stone-faced, and Mrs. Weasley's face held an annoyed frown, she seemed to be buried in thoughts, it looked almost like she was angry with herself. (She is blaming herself, Hermione realized). Prof. McGonagall and Kingsley were having a whispered conversation, while the other Professors stood around exchanging half-helpless, half-scared glances. Ron meanwhile was looking around as if hoping for someone to break into a grin and shout out "April Fool", but it was the look on Harry's face that shocked Hermione. He was looking at Bellatrix with pure hatred burning in his eyes, his fingers curling and uncurling around Malfoy's (now Harry's) wand. She followed his gaze and received another shock, because Bellatrix was not staring back at Harry. No, her steady gaze and unreadable expression was unblinkingly directed towards Hermione. Hermione gulped, her left arm suddenly tingled a bit and she took an involuntary step back. She expected Bellatrix to grin that horrible evil grin at the unwanted display of fear, but she didn't. In fact after a moment, she looked away instead at the fireplace.

"Okay now, Lestrange, for the last time, tell us exactly how you did it? Answer or we will be forced to resort to unpleasant methods," McGonagall's voice suddenly made everyone jump. No answer could be heard from the bound woman. In fact she did not even turn her head, and continued to contemplatively squint at the fire.

"Excuse me Professor, what exactly is going on here?" Hermione had finally found her voice.

"Well as you can see Ms. Granger, Bellatrix here is alive," McGonagall sighed. "And she is refusing to tell us how that has been possible. In fact she is yet to speak since we found her in the grounds." McGonagall concluded grimly.

"But Mum," Ron asked bewildered, "You killed her. Ginny told us... you blew her to pieces..." he was almost pleading to his mother for any kind of reassurance. But none came.

"How did you find her?" Harry asked to nobody in particular. Bill spoke up. "We, that is, Prof. McGonagall, Fleur and I, were building more wards around the school grounds, just to be safe. We also wanted to see if there were (he hesitated and glanced at his parents)... anymore bodies... well anyway Fleur screamed and I went rushing and saw this... Her... sitting on the edge of the forbidden forest under a tree."

"Where is Fleur? Did she hurt her?" Ron said.

"No, she did not hurt anyone. She did not have a wand on her," Bill said. "Fleur was terrified anyway, and I stunned Bellatrix, and then Professor McGonagall came and we brought her up here and informed Kingsley and his team."

Harry suddenly moved towards Bellatrix, wand in hand. Hermione tried to catch his sleeve, but he jerked her away and went to stand in front of Bellatrix. Bellatrix did not look up.

"Are you really Bellatrix Lestrange or are you someone else pretending to be her?" Harry spat out the question. Bellatrix finally looked up frowning a little, but still did not say anything. "Because if you are not her, then immediately start telling your story, and if you are really that monster, then I see absolutely no reason to keep you alive." Still no answer, though Bellatrix was now steadily staring at Harry. Hermione thought she saw a pained look cross the dark witch's eyes. It was just a fraction of a second, and then the mask of indifference fell back in place. Hermione frowned inwardly. Of course for all she knew, it might have been a trick of the light.

"We all saw it happen," Mr. Weasley said in a troubled voice. "There's no way she could have survived Molly's attack. I just can't believe she is still here. Unless of course there are two or three Bellatrixes out there, which is impossible," Mr. Weasley shrugged.

But Hermione's attention snapped towards him, her eyes widening in fear, at the unwitting implication. Of course no one yet knew about the horcruxes, and how exactly the three of them had finally managed to take down Voldemort. Though Slughorn uncomfortably shifted a little and catching Hermione's eyes, quickly looked down.

"Very well ," Kingsley finally spoke in his deep voice. "You leave us with no other choice." He turned towards Prof. Slughorn. "Sir, do you have any Veritaserum in your stock?"

"What umm... ah no Shacklebolt," Slughorn shook his head. "Those two Carrow parasites took it all away, you know, to administer it on students... to extract information about Harry's whereabouts." Kingsley nodded. "Never mind Sir, the Auror headquarters have their own private stash. Comes in handy. I'll send over people to get it."

"What happens to her meanwhile?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes," Molly Weasley finally spoke up. "The children and the other people are still around. It's too dangerous to leave her here. Take her with you. Take her away." Molly said as though speaking about an unwanted trash bag. Bellatrix frowned again.

"NO WAIT!" Harry suddenly shouted. "I'm not done with her yet. And we do need to figure out if she is Bellatrix Lestrange really... this might be someone else under polyjuice... or it might be a horrible plot." He caught Hermione's eye and silent look of understanding passed between them, Hermione nodded slightly.

"Very well, the Veritaserum should solve that problem," Kingsley said. "Meanwhile..."

"Meanwhile I need to talk to her, privately," Harry declared

"Harry..." Kingsley began but was cut short by the boy. "I need to talk to her Kingsley. I need answers."

"But she isn't giving any mate," Ron said, shooting Bellatrix a look of deep disgust.

"She will," Harry said with a steely determination in his voice. "No Professor, (McGonagall had opened her mouth), the war was meant to end today and it will end today. Just leave me alone with her." There was an outrage of disapproval and murmuring; Ron frowned at Hermione, who looked back pointedly at him. Suddenly his expression cleared as he understood, though a moment later, it became fearful. Hermione looked away and said loudly, "How alone is alone Harry?"

"You two can stay," Harry immediately told her. Ron nodded grimly.

"Are you mad? We cannot leave you with this crazy woman... she is downright dangerous and you are barely of age," Mrs. Weasley said in dismay and anger.

"Yeah Mum, kids who won the war for you," Ron snapped, but immediately spluttered when Mrs. Weasley's eyes started watering. "Mum I didn't mean to..." he trailed looking desperately at his brothers. Percy shook his head in disapproval, Bill shrugged, but it was Mr. Weasley who came to his rescue.

"Molly dear, they are of age, and have faced Bellatrix more times than us. They're perfectly capable, as they have proven time and again. And after everything Harry, Ron and Hermione have done for us, they deserve our trust." He said the last bit to the room at large.

"I cannot lose anymore of my babies Arthur," Mrs. Weasley was finally sobbing. Bellatrix rolled her eyes and let out a small annoyed huff, but nobody other than Hermione saw it, because Hermione for some reason was unable to keep her eyes off her. There was something different about Bellatrix, but she couldn't place what.

After long moments of arguing and convincing, finally McGonagall ushered the other teachers out. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went to the hospital wing to see George, and relieve Ginny for a while. The girl had not left her brother's side, trying in vain to get him out of his catatonic state. And Bill followed them to see whether Fleur was alright. Kingsley then assured Harry that his team would be stationed outside and if needed to call for help. He then instructed Percy to gather people and try to contact the families of the wounded and the dead. They finally left and the three were left alone with the unrelenting bane of their life.

An insane, naricissistic and sadistic bane, Hermione thought; and suddenly in a flash it became clear to her, why she was feeling uneasy about the insane woman... because Bellatrix Lestrange was not acting insane, at all... okay what the hell was going on?!


	3. Chapter 3

**All rights belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I'm not making any money (though heavens know I need to) **

Chapter 3

There She Goes Again

Harry watched the door close, waited for a few moments and turned towards Bellatrix, who was suddenly sitting on the floor Indian style and giving them her full concentration. Hermione found this sudden change extremely odd.

Without preamble, Harry pointed his wand at Bellatrix and snarled, "Start talking or I will make you do it under the Imperius Curse."

Bellatrix finally smiled and leaned back again the pillar to which she was shackled. "Oh, so you've finally learned to use The Big Three... Good, good! Do I get a Thank You card for helping you with the Cruciatus one?" she asked conversationally.

"SHUT UP," Harry roared. "Shut Up! How dare you? You sit here and dare to make jokes out of people's pain, you MURDERER!"

"Who did I murder?" for some reason, Bellatrix sounded genuinely surprised.

"Oh... let me think," Harry said in mock surprise. "Oh yes, SIRIUS!" Harry shouted. "Your cousin brother remember... how you murdered him in the department of mysteries? Right in front of Me."

"I try not to remember," Bellatrix grimaced. "That he was my cousin is not a pleasant reminder. And I defeated him in a duel, it is different from murder," she said irritably.

"Dobby," Hermione spoke now. "You killed someone as pure and innocent and selfless as Dobby," her voice shook, recalling the sad memory of the little elf dying.

"Oh, I did wonder who finally got the knife, it was actually meant for you," Bellatrix told Hermione in a matter-of-fact tone. Hermione froze for a moment but quickly recovered. "What have you done with it? It was rather a favorite one of mine. Made from dragon bone and silver, a cherished gift actually..." Bellatrix was musing now. The other three shared exasperated looks, exactly how incorrigible could a person be!

"Look at you," Ron mocked. "You can't seem to stop talking now. Why were you pretending to be dumb for so long?"

"Are you stupid? No, don't answer that. I know you're stupid so I'll spell it out for you. Queens do not talk to minions. When a war is lost and the losing side's queen is captured it is the responsibility of the winning side's royalty to directly deal with her." Bellatrix continued completely ignoring their increasingly puzzled expressions on the young people. "I'm the Queen of the Dark Side, you're the King of the Light (she looked at Harry). Your minions captured me. So put forth your questions and I'll think whether or not to answer them."

"Enough, stop it. I'm done with your drama! You killed Sirius!" Harry yelled. Bellatrix gave him a bored 'I-couldn't-care-less' kind of smile.

"Talking about drama, Bellatrix," Hermione said slowly. "Why are you suddenly acting sane?"

"You call this sane Mione?" Ron muttered.

"Compared to what we have been witness to this is indeed sane... unless of course," Hermione now directly looked at the dark witch. "Unless of course, you're not Bellatrix Lestrange at all... tell us are you an imposter? Have you taken polyjuice?" Hermione demanded. She had no idea where the sudden burst of courage and confidence had come from, but then that's what happened with her. Hermione was never one to show false bravado, but when she meant business... she meant business!

Now she crossed her arms and waited for Bellatrix to answer. Bellatrix looked silently at her for a long moment, again with an unreadable expression. Finally she said, "No, I'm ME alright."

"How did you save yourself?" Harry immediately asked. "A room full of people saw you dying."

"They thought they saw... it was an illusion. I created an illusion. Happy?"

"Far from it," Hermione snapped. "Don't give me that crap. Mrs. Weasley is a skilled witch, and many more highly skilled wizards and witches saw you being blown into smitherins."

"No one saw any damn thing. Everyone was busy fighting their own battles." Bellatrix retorted. A smile spread appeared on Hermione's face. "And pray how would you know that if you were also busy fighting your own?" she asked softly. Bellatrix's head snapped up and her eyes widened for a second, before she quickly looked down again.

"You know of all things I thought of you, I did not take you for a liar," Hermione said in a slow mocking tone. Ron appeared worried to see her moving closer to the dark witch, but through the corner of her eye she saw Harry signal Ron to stay back, the black-haired boy at least had understood what she was doing.

"Lying is for cowards Bella..." she purposely used a pet name and watched as Bellatrix's clenched her fists and ground her teeth. "Tell us Bella, did you use the same evil way to immortalize yourself like your so-called-Lord had done?" Bellatrix's knuckles had turned white.

"Where is your wand Bella? To which illusion did you lose your magic stick... Madame Lestrange?" Bellatrix kept her eyes on the manacles. "Did you lose it while running away from the fighting? Did you make some other person take Polyjuice and become you?" Bellatrix was now shaking.

"At the end of the day that's what you really are aren't you? Bellatrix Black Lestrange... the coward..."

And in a flash Bellatrix sprung up and lunged at her. It had been so smooth and sudden that Hermione felt Bellatrix clawing at her face before she even saw the woman coming. Harry and Ron flew to her rescue dragging her away. "Impedimenta" Harry voice sounded. And Bellatrix fell back and crashed into the bean, falling in a heap.

Hermione was shaken. A burning on her left cheek caused her to gingerly touch and feel blood, there were what felt like two clean claw marks on her face now.

For a few moments she had underestimated the dark witch. Wand or no wand, she was still Bellatrix. "How dare you Mudblood!" the Death Eater had collected herself enough to wheeze out. "I've borne with your insolence for far too long. You may have been lucky to become the Queen of the winning side, but that doesn't change the fact that you are still a filthy Mudblood!" she coughed and spluttered but continued ranting. This was exactly the effect that Hermione had wanted to create. "Go and get it out of her," she whispered to the boys. "Make her reveal if she has made Horcruxes."

Harry and Ron needed no further encouragement. They rushed towards the captive witch, wands drawn. "Tell us," Harry said. "Did you make Horcruxes? Tell us and I will spare your pathetic undeserving life. We will of course destroy those despicable objects, but I will let the little old you live, So. Tell. Us. Right. Now."

Bellatrix bared her teeth at them in reply. "Your sicko Lord had also wanted to keep it a secret, but I got him at the end didn't I?" Harry mocked. "I will get you too Bellatrix Lestrange whether or not you want it. Speak the truth and you might be shown a tiny little mercy."

"Yeah, come out with the truth Bella you coward," Ron further goaded. Bellatrix screamed.

"TRUTH? YOU WANT TRUTH? FINE YOU MUDBLOOD AND BLOOD TRAITORS... I WILL GIVE YOU YOUR FUCKING TRUTH!" Bellatrix stopped for a moment took a deep breath and spoke in her trademark chilling whisper.

"Imagine a person you have not seen in over sixteen years... and suddenly you're duelling with that person... or maybe what you think is that person. A mad battle going on, people dying left-right-centre, castle lying in ruins, the whole place filled up in smoke and dust and flying spells... and then Molly Weasley's blood traitor family being attacked..." she paused for effect. She needn't have, all three teenagers were hanging on to her every word.

"Think about it... Dear Boy who lived... is it impossible to mistake someone else for me under such conditions?" The two boys exchanged puzzled glances, but Hermione could feel herself stiffening, her breath getting caught in her throat, as an old memory of Tonks showing her a family picture flashed through her mind. No! She thought desperately. No, that is impossible. But Bellatrix's next words proved her worst fears true.

"Especially, if the said person looked almost exactly like me? Except maybe for a difference in eye color? But who notices eye colors during a war anyway!" Bellatrix's eyes were glittering with a strange fire as she took a deep breath and slumped back.

Harry and Ron still looked confused. Thinking Bellatrix was tricking them again, Harry started angrily, "Now look here what are you..." but he was cut short by a gasp. Turning around he saw Hermione had a hand covered over her mouth, her eyes wide in fear, staring straight at Bellatrix. Bellatrix stared right back, her trademark sadistic grin finally making a proper appearance.

"Oh gosh," Hermione let out a strangled whimper... The two boys were more than perturbed by this sudden non-verbal communication going on between the two most unlikely people.

"A...An...Andromeda?"

Still grinning Bellatrix slowly nodded, then said in an ice-cold voice, "...is dead."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update, but I was on vacation and when I tried to pack my laptop for the trip, my folks threatened to disown me from the will. Anyway where was I... oh yeah HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Have a wonderful 2015!

By the way, I've notched up the rating to M, just for safety.

**Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I'm borrowing the characters for my little story. **

Chapter 4

Revelations

Hermione's head was reeling, to the point that she suddenly felt the need to sit down. But there were no seats in the room. She turned to glance towards her two best friends, and saw her own disbelief and shock reflected in their faces. The silence in the room was so thick that it could be cut clean in two with Godric Gryffindor's sword.

"That's rubbish." Hermione had finally found her voice. "What you're saying is, it was Andromeda, and not you fighting there... and it was Andromeda and not you who was killed in the process?"

"10 points to Mudbloods... I had heard you were intelligent Mud Cub," sarcasm dripped from Bellatrix's voice.

"Mum killed Andromeda by mistake!" Ron almost whimpered. "Why would Andromeda fight against us? She was on our side!"

Bellatrix snorted. "So you think," she said simply.

"Oh great, so now Andromeda is a traitor is she?" Harry huffed. "Say something believable for a change why don't you!"

"Contact her family... what's left of it anyway... See if you can find her," Bellatrix challenged. And when the three of them continued looking at her, Bellatrix let out an exaggerated sigh. "Andromeda was never on your side, BUT..."she said loudly as all three opened their mouths to interrupt, "...she wasn't on our side either."

"THAT'S A LIE!" Harry roared. "Andromeda was nothing like you, she was different from all of you. Sirius told me."

Bellatrix let out a derisive laughter. "Of course that makes it the 13th commandment! Believe what you will, I have answered your questions, but I will tell you this, Sirius was no God."

"Shut Up you witch, whatever Sirius might have been at least he wasn't a poisonous piece of trash like you! You have no right to speak about him like that," Harry raged. Bellatrix frowned, very deeply. Hermione noticed and tugged at Harry's arm. "Harry please control yourself, we need information first," she pleaded. Harry went to argue but stopped when he caught the dead serious look on her face.

"Please continue Bellatrix," she said. "Stop taking my name with your filthy tongue Mudblood!" Bellatrix shrieked. "And I have nothing more to say. I am Bellatrix, and Mrs. Redhead has killed Andromeda thinking it was me. And Andromeda was fighting against you. Why? Only she knew. Interrogate her spirit. Now go away!" Bellatrix snarled.

Ron didn't waste any more time. "Imperio!" Bellatrix looked like she seized up for a moment and then slumped back, her eyes completely unfocussed and mouth slack.

"What did you do Ron! That's an unforgivable curse," Hermione shrieked.

"Desperate times, desperate measures Mione," Ron said grimly. "We did it at Gringotts remember."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "And it's not like she has done anything to deserve respectable handling. And like you said we need information." Hermione was still not very convinced, but turning to look at the now placid woman, she noticed that for the first time since she had known the dark witch, she looked completely relaxed and at peace, her normally cruel eyes were vacant and half-closed. To an outsider, she would just look very drowsy. Hermione stared at the woman for a long moment; other than a slow rhythmic breathing, there was no movement from the chained woman. "Can you hear me?" Hermione finally asked softly.

"Yes," came a muttered reply.

"Umm, who are you?" she asked the prone figure tentatively.

"Bellatrix Black Lestrange," came the immediate unhesitant reply. The three exchanged a glance.

"Answer us honestly, how did you get away alive from the battle?" Ron said.

"Mrs. Weasley killed my sister Andromeda assuming her to be me."

"Where were you then?" Harry asked.

"At Hogwarts... invisible... looking for my Master."

"You were under an Invisibility cloak?"

"No, that's my special brand of magic, I don't need cloaks," said Bellatrix flatly. Hermione thought watching the headstrong fearsome woman be so compliant and completely under their control was weird and slightly unnerving.

"Tell us the truth about Andromeda," Hermione now asked. "Why did you say she was not on either side?"

Bellatrix continued speaking like a zombie. "During the first war, Rodolphus kidnapped Andy's husband. It was then that Andy approached me and pleaded to my good sense (an insane smile spread across her face)... to let him go for her sake. But if I'd let the Mudblood go the Dark Lord would torture us to death." Bellatrix smile widened and then abruptly disappeared. "You do not show kindness during war... So I made a wager. Information in exchange for Ted's life!

The other three gasped. Bellatrix seemed to take no notice, she continued in a monotonous voice. "I took her to my Lord, and because he trusted me, more than anyone else, he agreed to it. He needed an insider. So Andy became our double agent from that moment on! And of course the fact that she was Sirius's pet finally seemed to have some use after all."

"Bu... But that was Pettigrew!" Harry exclaimed.

"It was Andromeda who told us that Pettigrew would be the weakest link in the Order. Sirius was going into hiding, Potter and his wife had already disappeared, Lupin was on the run. Peter was left alone, and he had always needed protection. My Lord offered him so; he didn't really have much choice, it was either that or death. And like Andromeda, Peter too chose self-preservation. But Peter was only there for some accidental information, but Andy helped with the more intricate bits, you know let slip by Padfoot and his brood, unwittingly in front of the harmless Andromeda!" the insane smile reappeared on Bellatrix's face, was almost as scary as her sadistic grin. "Andy even caused Sirius to believe Lupin may be the mole, ensuring the real ones remain hidden."

Hermione and her two best friends stared at each other apparently at a complete loss of words. Bellatrix's answers had only helped in giving rise to even more questions. Hermione tried to collect her thoughts and carefully framed her next question.

"Did Andromeda still betray us to you during the second battle?" Bellatrix stared straight ahead and nodded. "During the second war, the condition was that in exchange for her information, we would not harm her daughter." Harry pressed his hand over his eyes, whether in anger or shock Hermione didn't know.

"What information did she give you?"

"It was Andy who told us Sirius would be the man the Potter boy would come running to save. Apparently Sirius had been gushing to her in the letters about his bosom friendship with his godson. It was Andy who informed us of the wedding at the Weasley house, Nymphadora had told her that the wards would be down for the day, making it easy for us to attack. And it was Andy who told us the real Potter would be travelling with the giant, Hagrid. But the information came last minute. We didn't know about the decoy Potters at first, apparently Andromeda was informed about his arrival at her place only after the flight began. She managed to send me word, and we called our Lord, but one more time luck favoured the boy and he escaped." There was a faint trace of bitterness in her otherwise flat voice.

"Wait a minute," Ron suddenly said loudly. "You tried to kill Tonks, I was right there, we fought you! What happened to your agreement about not hurting Tonks?"

"When Nymphadora joined the Order, it became difficult to keep our part of the bargain. So we agreed that I would be the one to duel with Nymphadora, ensuring other Death Eaters don't harm her fatally. All I had to do was play around for a bit before stunning her and putting her out of harm's way."

And it all came back to Hermione. Bellatrix injuring Tonks, but only enough to keep her away from the battle at the Department of Mysteries... Ron's account about how Bellatrix and Rodolphous had fought him and Tonks during their journey to the Burrow, and talented though Tonks was, it was hard to believe she and Ron could've beaten someone like Bellatrix Lestrange. But, Hermione decided that it would probably not be wise to voice that.

"And what happened last night?" Harry asked, his voiced laced with barely controlled fury.

Bellatrix's eyes flickered; she let out a deep sigh and spoke in the same flat expressionless voice. "My Lord knew you would be coming to Hogwarts; I don't know how but he always knew everything, he was omniscient!" (Hermione couldn't help rolling her eyes). He asked us to ready the forces, and while half-way, we received confirmed news of your arrival."

"Professor Snape," Hermione whispered. The boys nodded grimly, and Bellatrix gave a small nod.

"I had honestly thought it wouldn't be a big deal, and had been generally surprised as to why an entire army was required to get three children. But I underestimated you. . I was surprised to see you had managed to raise an army of your own. But my Lord of course seemed to have expected nothing less. So he wasn't angry as much as amused to see you people getting ready to fight back."

"So you started fighting, when did Andromeda come in the picture?" Ron said impatiently.

"I did not fight, my Lord had forbidden me to fight!" To say this statement left the Golden Three stunned would be the understatement of the era.

"What do you mean?" Harry demanded. "Why did he stop you from fighting?"

"My Lord asked me to come to Hogwarts and stop Harry Potter from entering the Room of Requirement, and to also retrieve the Goblet you three stole from my vault."

"And?" Hermione prodded, her breath hitching in anticipation.

"And nothing, my instructions were clear. I was to ensure that Harry Potter, under no circumstances should be able to enter the Room of Requirement. If he tried, I was allowed to maim or injure him, but not kill. The other two was a liability and I was to get rid of them if necessary. But otherwise I had to steer clear of the battle, and once I had retrieved the stolen treasure I was to report directly back to him."

"So you obeyed him?" Hermione pushed.

"Of course I obeyed him. I have never not obeyed him, I'm his most faithful, most loyal..."

"Wait Hogwarts was warded, how did you come in?" Harry asked alarmed.

"My Lord has his own ways and I was taught the darkest of magic by the Dark Lord himself... I can turn myself into smoke," Bellatrix was staring at nothing all the while.

"Yes, we know you can do that," Harry said bitterly. "We saw you do that when you burned down the Burrow. But that does not explain how you broke the magic wards?"

"Pipes!" it was Hermione and not Bellatrix who had spoken. The boys turned to look at her bewildered.

"Mione?" Ron looked worried.

"Pipes Ron... pipes! The same way Tom Riddle used to free the monster of the Chamber of Secrets!" Hermione exclaimed. "He must have told her," she pointed at Bellatrix, who did not counter her argument.

"Blimey," Ron breathed out.

"What happened once you managed to enter Hogwarts?" Hermione urged, throwing a nervous glance at the door.

"It wasn't easy to locate you in the swarm of students, but I managed nevertheless. But then suddenly you three separated. My orders were to follow Potter, so I did. But it was fruitless, because all he did was chat with a ghost. But she seemed to point him there, because Potter immediately dashed off to the seventh floor."

"So then why didn't you stop us from getting there?" Harry said.

"As I was following you, something suddenly happened. Something I can't explain, but suddenly I could hear my Lord screaming inside my head. (Bellatrix shuddered slightly) He told me that the cup was destroyed and that he would punish me for my failure (an wave of fear passed through Bellatrix's otherwise blank face). But that I should stop you from going into the Room of Requirement at all costs."

"But you couldn't?" Hermione asked carefully.

"I was caught off guard and when I looked up, Potter had disappeared. I dashed off to the seventh floor, but I got delayed by curses flying everywhere, moving invisible among hundreds of dashing people was difficult. And by the time I reached there, Potter had vanished; I had no idea what to say to make the door appear. I wanted to ask my Lord, but I was far too scared of the repercussions, having already failed him once. So I tried saying many things, but the room did not appear to me. So instead I chose to wait. And after what seemed like hours, all of you came out; or should I say rushed out on brooms. The room was on fire. I was immensely surprised to see Draco with you. And then you destroyed what seemed like some jewellery... and what happened after that (Bellatrix shivered violently) I knew then what I had failed to do. I knew then that _He_ would kill me. That was the only punishment. I have never been more terrified."

Bellatrix felt silent, her eyes widened in fear. The three young people did not know what to say. Hermione silently debated with herself whether to give the woman a moment of respite or continue drilling. But Harry made the decision for her, there was no sympathy in his heart for the killer of his Godfather.

"What did you do after that?" Bellatrix was silent for a moment but then began speaking, again in the same flat toneless way.

"My Lord suddenly asked his forces to retreat. I took it as my cue to leave as well. I went back to the forest with the others. I was expecting to be killed immediately, but the Lord was very excited about something and as such did not pay any attention to me. He was convinced that Potter would himself come to my Lord... and he did."

"Why didn't you escape if you knew death awaited you in the forest?" Hermione asked puzzled.

"I would have to be a fool to expect to dupe the Dark Lord. I may have been his best lieutenant, but he was far too powerful. He would find me. At least if I walked to my death, he would make it less painful. And I had failed him, miserably... I deserved to be killed."

Hermione was stunned. How steeped could a person be in their twisted senseless beliefs to lay down their life for failing such a crooked man. And then suddenly a thought occurred to her... here in front of them, was possibly the only follower of Voldemort, who had supported him without any selfish ulterior motive. In her own dark way, Bellatrix held her morals high. This discovery jumbled up Hermione quite a bit. Stop thinking, she ordered herself.

"But this still does not explain how Andromeda came to the fight. She was not with us the whole time!" Ron's voice brought Hermione out of her thoughts.

"When we were waiting for Potter to come in the forest, I had drifted off a little distance wondering what the Dark Lord would do with me once all this was over. And suddenly Andy came out of nowhere and attacked me. It was just my reflex that stopped me from being fatally wounded. And indeed if Narcissa had not come looking for me... Andy was positively crazy. And when she was crazy, she could be crazier than me!"

"Why did she attack you?" Hermione said. Nothing was making sense really.

"She was there to revenge her daughter's death." Bellatrix said simply. The three gasped.

"You killed Tonks?" Harry yelled. Bellatrix's eyes flickered again.

"I don't know. I may have, I may not have."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?"

"After the incident of the Room of Requirement, you three left. Since I was not allowed to kill Potter, there was little point following you. So I waited for my Lord to call me back, but then I suddenly noticed Nymphadora fighting Avery and his two cronies. It was three against one and she was losing. There was no one from her side to save her, so as promised to Andy, I had to show myself. I headed the men off and started fighting Nymphadora. I intended to as usual paralyse her enough to remove her from the fight. But then suddenly one of the Weasley twins, don't know which, arrived and started fighting, and then from somewhere Dolohov arrived. Curses started flying everywhere and suddenly Nymphadora was lying dead. I don't know whose curse she got hit by, but in all probabilities it was a rebound curse from the boy. But like I said, I can't be sure."

Hermione felt faint. She backed to the wall and slumped down. This was a what-the-fuck situation of Titanic proportions! Ron looked like he was going to be sick, while Harry started pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

"What did you tell Andromeda?" Hermione asked finally, though she thought she already knew the answer.

"I told her that the Weasley kid killed her daughter." Bellatrix said after a long pause.

"YOU LIED TO HER, YOU... YOU..." Ron spluttered in fury.

"Yes," Bellatrix replied, unperturbed. "If I had told her the truth, she would've created a scene in the forest, and the Dark Lord would kill her. He was very displeased with her when she could not give us any information on Potter's whereabouts for the past year. Saying it was the Weasley boy's fault was the only way I could send her back in the school. That part didn't quite work out the way I thought though."

"Are you saying you actually cared for her?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"She was my sister." And with that Bellatrix became quite. The gears were turning very fast in Hermione's head, and as the pieces fell in place, the picture became clearer, and the more they became clearer, the more worried she became. She wondered if her friends realized the situation to its full extent. But Harry's next question proved that he clearly didn't.

"How did Andromeda find out about Tonk's death? How did she find you?" Harry asked, but before Bellatrix could reply Hermione stopped him.

"Harry, the rest can wait," she said urgently pulling him and Ron to a corner.

"Why, what happened?" Harry asked a little vexed.

"Don't you realize, this is a complete mess," Hermione said in a voice that implored the boys to understand. "Yes, Mione we realize that quite clearly," Ron said frowning.

"No, Ron you don't. Please understand how things stand now," Hermione took a deep breath and said, "Mrs. Weasley has killed Andromeda. Yes (she gestured to Ron to not interrupt)... she had attacked Goerge and Ginny, but she was clearly not in her senses following her daughter's death. And do you think if Mrs. Weasley hadn't mistaken her for Bellatrix, she would've aimed to kill?" Ron now looked alarmed and hesitantly shook his head.

"That's what I thought. Now can you imagine your mother's condition if she learns of the truth?" Hermione said grimly.

"But Andromeda was a traitor. Whatever her reasons, she did betray us..." Harry said slowly. Hermione thought he was trying more to convince himself than her.

"Ted Tonks has just lost a daughter and wife, do you really want to bulldozer him with the truth about his wife, especially that she did it all to keep him and Tonks safe?" Harry's shoulders slumped in answer. Hermione threw a furtive glance over her shoulder at the dark witch. Bellatrix was still in her slumped position, chained to the pillar; her eyes were on them, but she seemed to be looking through them, her mind somewhere far away.

"Oh there's more," Hermione said, the boys gave her incredulous looks. "Teddy could grow up known as the son of war heroes, or he could forever be ostracized as the grandson of a traitor... not to mention if the story of Bellatrix goes out, we also have to reveal the truth about the Horcruxes... something we unanimously agreed to never reveal." She paused for a moment.

"And who among you both will volunteer to inform Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and George that Fred might or might not have killed Tonks by mistake?"

Harry looked away. Ron shook his head vigorously. All three of them stood there breathing slowly, not saying a word. "Fuck," Ron said finally. "Fuck just about summarizes our situation," Hermione grimly replied. Harry rubbed his scar and said in a tired voice, "So what should we do?"

"I don't know Harry, I really don't know," Hermione answered frustrated; she hated being unable to come up with a solution.

"We might as well book a bed for Mum at St. Mungo's, cause she's going to freak out...completely." They fell quiet again, each trying to think of a way out of this quicksand of a situation. At last Harry spoke. "We need to tell someone. I wish Dumbledore was here, he'd have known what to do."

"Maybe we should tell Prof. McGonagall?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head. "No, it just wouldn't be the same."

"Do you think we should tell Dad? Or Bill?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry said. "No we'll tell Kingsley. He's representing the Ministry right? We'll tell him and then see what he says. I cannot let the Horcrux story go out. No way."

"Well, then I think you should hurry up Harry. Go find Kingsley and tell him everything before they all arrive with the Veritaserum. We cannot let them administer it on her (Hermione jerked her head towards the captive woman)." Harry nodded and prepared to leave.

"Ron I think you should go and check with your family, before your mother thinks we all have been killed."

"What? And leave you here? With this mad evil woman? Mione are you insane or suicidal?" Ron practically yelled. It should'v been endearing, Ron's concern for her; but given the current situation Hermione found it irritating.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself Ron. She is Imperiused and shackled, without a wand. Whereas I'm armed. It would be too dangerous to leave her alone."

"No Mione, I'm not leaving you alone with her! Absolutely not!" Ron said stubbornly. "I will stay instead, it's the same." Hermione scowled.

_No it's not. Bellatrix is too clever for you_, Hermione wanted to say. But instead she settled for, "Please Ron, do what needs to be done. I'm going to be fine. Go and see your family, and then try to find out if Tonk's family has arrived, and if they know anything about Andromeda's whereabouts. But please, be discreet." Ron showed every sign of protest, but Hermione glared at him and then turned towards Harry.

"Take him Harry, finish what you have to do and get back here."

"You sure you're going to be fine?" Harry asked worriedly. "I will be Harry, and if the need arises, I'll call for the Aurors, okay?" he nodded and then with a last look at the chained witch, pulled Ron out of the room. The door closed behind them and the wards fell in place.

Hermione stood still for a moment and let the sudden silence fill her; then turned around to face the dark witch. Now it was just her and the recurrent object of her nightmares. Hermione took a deep breath and took out her wand.


	5. Chapter 5

**Everything belongs to Jo Rowling. I'm just borrowing her characters for my story. And I'm not making any profit. I'd be in prison by now if I did. **

Chapter 5

Mischief Managed

Bellatrix Lestrange, notorious Death Eater, marked criminal and a personified brutal nightmare in general was slumped on the floor, eyes half-closed, chained to a pillar... Hermione stood still for a long moment staring at the older woman. Oh how the coins had flipped, only few nights ago, Hermione herself had been at the mercy of the same witch. And though she'd never admit it to them, this was precisely the reason why she had sent the boys away. She needed to face her fears, alone. That night at the Malfoy Manor... Hermione had never before felt more helpless, more humiliated... or closer to death... She absently raised her hand to brush her hair back, and then hissed in pain as her fingers brushed against the gash on her cheek. She had forgotten about it in the excitement of the events. She now raised her wand and muttered a healing spell, the wound closed but the sting remained. Sighing she pointed her wand inside her small beaded bag, and muttered "Accio dittany"...

Her wound having healed, Hermione discarded the now empty potion bottle to a corner and slowly started pacing, her gaze darting from the blank walls, to the now bright sunlight streaming through the window, to the figure of the dark witch. _It was night then, it is morning now... the darkness is gone... she has been defeated... there is nothing to fear now..._she firmly kept repeating in her mind. Looking down at the hunched figure, she absently rubbed her arm. "At least our methods of interrogating are better than yours," she murmured and turned to walk to the other side of the room when a familiar, blood curdling low whisper sounded behind her, "...**Yes but not very effective are they?" **

Hermione's whole world seemed to stop as her brain caught up with her ears. And then just as suddenly two thin arms wrapped themselves around her waist, chains and all, and forcefully turned her around. Next second she found herself pulled flush against the older woman's body, a clattering sound from a corner informed her that her wand had fallen out of her hand in the fierceness of the attack. The chill running down her spine was in complete contrast to the heat of Bellatrix's body against her. Their noses almost touching, Hermione's terrified eyes found themselves staring into Bellatrix's intense black gaze.

**"Because you see Mudblood, the Imperius curse does not work on me..."** the same deathly whisper sounded again. _Close... terrifyingly close... Aurors, there are Aurors stationed outside, call them, her brain commanded Hermione. _

"Hel..." Hermione started to yell, but then an almighty push and she was slammed against the opposite wall and slid down to the floor. There would be bruise_. _

_Wand, Idiot look for your wand. _She hazily squinted at the far corners but saw nothing. And then a low cackle sounded, she looked up and found Bellatrix Lestrange slowly coming forward, Hermione's wand in her hand, chains gone and that horrible evil grin firmly in place. Out of nowhere, a heeled boot connected with her ribs, and Hermione's world turned into one black painful mass...

It was Malfoy Manor all over again, she thought miserably. She would be tortured by the dark witch yet again. She cursed herself for trusting Bellatrix even for a second, victory seemed to have gotten into her head after all; what else could've possibly made her believe that Bellatrix Lestrange would be so easily cornered. And now she had gone and send her friends away. _I have to face my fears alone, now face it alone and die in here. You __Stupid girl... stupid stupid girl_. _Way to go Hermione, win the war and then be kicked to death by a prisoner. Golden girl indeed!_ Her eyes still tightly shut, Hermione tried to bottle down the painful complains of her muscles and waited for the next attack... that did not come...

Warily she opened her eyes and peered, her eyes took a moment to come back to focus. Bellatrix was sitting on what seemed to be a regal silver and black throne chair, which she obviously had conjured out of thin air. Sunlight lighting up the entire room, and the black rippling curls of the older woman's cascading hair, she seemed utterly relaxed, with one foot jiggling over the other, twirling the wand between her fingers. She was observing Hermione with the same mild interest that a student would use to study a smelly insect. Hermione opened her mouth again, and immediately Bellatrix raised a long finger. "If you try to shout for help again, I will permanently remove your voice." Hermione immediately closed her mouth. "You do not doubt my ability to do so now, do you?" Hermione quickly shook her head. She wasn't sure whether sitting up would be a wise move, so she stayed still, eyes fixed on the seated woman.

"You were never Imperiused, were you?" Hermione said in a strangled whisper, scared to even raise her voice. No, she really did not have any doubts about Bellatrix's ability to turn her mute for life. And Hermione really liked talking thank you very much. "You were just... acting all along?"

"I am a very good actress," Bellatrix told her casually.

"Why?"

Bellatrix shrugged again. "It was fun... watching you little bitty babies think you've got the better of me. And anyway I tried to play nice, you know. Answer your questions and all that. But your Ginger Candy didn't respect that did he? He actually had the audacity to curse me! Me?!" Bellatrix jabbed a finger at her chest to emphasize the gross mistake Ron had made in choosing a victim. Hermione's ribs were now loudly complaining; not removing her eyes from the other witch, she slowly sat up against the wall, and winced when a sharp pain shot through her side. Bellatrix snorted.

"Aww, don't be a sissy Mudblood, I didn't hit you that bad!" she said in her trademark sing-song voice. "You've had worse from me... remember?" Her eyes lingered on Hermione's jacket covered forearm. And at the memory of that night, a wave of fury rose within her, enough to override her fear of the dark witch.

"You won't be able to escape this time," Hermione hissed out. "There are Aurors outside, my friends will be back any moment. The wards are impenetrable, so your smoke magic won't work either. Kill me if you want to, but they'll get you."

"Dearie if I wanted to kill you, you would be dead by now!" Bellatrix looked almost amused. "No, I want answers Mudcub. You've had your turn and now it's mine. Keep talking and I will try not to hurt you... too much."

Hermione felt warier than ever. "What do you want to know?" she asked quietly. Bellatrix turned towards the door and muttered, "Muffliato"

"Huh, should've done that long ago. Seems like the war has numbed me a bit, only a bit of course. Anyway now... Answers! So, the Gringotts goblins told us that they had seen me walk in just before the break-in happened, and since I was forbidd-... I mean I was at the Malfoy Manor at the time, I can assume, you took my identity. How did you do it?"

Hermione quickly assessed her situation. She was wandless and Bellatrix was armed. The older woman had strategically placed her chair in between Hermione and the door, so she couldn't run for it. Shouting for help was useless now, since Bellatrix had placed the silencing charm. Her best bet was to keep talking and somehow get the dark witch distracted, and try and retrieve the wand.

"I don't like to be kept waiting Mudblood. And stop staring at my wand. I've only taken back what is rightfully mine."

Hermione decided to be honest, there was no need to lie about it anyway. "I took polyjuice potion. A strand of your hair got stuck to my sweater when you were... that night. I used that to become you. And I had your wand."

"Hmm... slightly impressive, majorly insolent and complete thievery," Bellatrix thoughtfully murmured. "But I can't believe how they accepted the filthy you to be the great me!"

"I'm a very good actress," Hermione shot back. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes dangerously but let it pass. "Did you know the cup was a Horcrux?" Hermione asked before the other woman could say anything else.

"I'm asking the questions here," Bellatrix snapped. "But I knew... sort of."

"Sort of?" Hermione said eagerly. "Meaning you guessed it even if Voldemort didn't tell you?"

"That's Enough!" Bellatrix burst out, and then quickly glanced at the door. Taking a deep breath to collect herself, she said, "How did you destroy it?"

Hermione knew she was not getting her answer, not yet at least. "Stabbed it with a Basilisk fang," she said. For a moment she could swear Bellatrix looked impressed. But then her eyes gleamed and her voice went back to that dangerous whisper. "And who among you destroyed the cup?"

"Harry did," Hermione replied immediately. _Sorry Harry;_ But Harry would have backup when he came back, Hermione on the other hand was stuck here alone with Mrs. Torture as her company. It was a matter of survival; Harry would understand. And it seemed to be a good decision because Bellatrix was clenching her jaw as her grip tightened on the wand.

"You three have caused me a lot of pain... and humiliation."

"It's not our fault you lost to us every time!" _Shit shIT SHIT. This is why Prof. Snape had called her insufferable. Here lies Hermione Granger- cause of death "answering correctly"._

"CRUCIO"... Hermione shut her eyes tight... that unbearable pain was going to hit her again... the most horrible kind of pain... pain... Okay,where was the pain? Hermione worriedly opened her eyes and fearfully looked around, as if expecting the pain to lunge at her from one of the dark corners of the room. And then Bellatrix's raucous laughter echoed through the room. The dark witch was still sitting back on her throne chair, cackling as if she had just witnessed the most hilarious thing in the world. When she finally stopped, she looked smugly at the girl on the floor.

"How many times do I have to teach you children that you've got to mean it!" she said in a bored voice. "Maybe I should demonstrate it to you properly..." _No no Please, NO! _

"But... I need more answers from you first. Tell me how did you three get access to the Dark Lord's deepest secret? How did you know about the Horcruxes?"

Hermione immediately started talking, anything to avoid being tortured. _Where the hell were Ron and Harry? _"Dumbledore told us. He told Harry I mean and Harry told us. Dumbledore had had his suspicions ever since Harry destroyed the first Horcrux- Tom Riddle's diary. A diary Voldemort had created while at Hogwarts, which gave instructions on how to open the Chamber of Secrets. The diary was..."

"...kept under that scum Lucius Malfoy's care." Bellatrix breathed out. "That blithering idiot, if it hadn't been for his stupidity, Master would never... he would've... I wouldn't have lost his trust... he would've..." Bellatrix was mumbling to herself, lost in thought. Hermione decided this was the moment. Willing her tender ribs into submission, she sprang up and jumped at Bellatrix.

For one moment Bellatrix's eyes widened with the unexpected shock. But as Hermione had almost grabbed the wand back, Bellatrix reacted, tightening her own grip and grabbed Hermione's hair with her other hand. This was a do-or-die situation. Spurred by necessity, Hermione began clawing with her free hand at Bellatrix face. In the struggle, the throne chair suddenly vanished and the two went hurtling to the ground. Hermione having landed on top of the dark witch used her position to her benefit, pinning down the older woman with her knees, one hand splayed across Bellatrix's face obstructing her vision, she tried to pull the wand out with all her might. But Bellatrix was not someone to go without a fight. Keeping her grip firm, she used her left hand to rain blow upon blow on Hermione, making sure to repeatedly hit the sore upper abdomen. After a particularly nasty blow to the already injured rib, Hermione let out a cry of pain.

Taking opportunity of her momentary lapse, Bellatrix rolled them over. Pinning down the girl with her full weight, her fingers wrapped around Hermione's throat. Hermione started chocking; Bellatrix was cackling. "Manners Mudblood! When elders are talking, you should not interrupt by jumping at them. Seems like Hogwarts hasn't taught you anything. Not to worry... I will." But Hermione had finally grabbed the wand with both hands and given it a massive tug. Feeling the wood in her fingers, she choked out, "Stupefy!" and felt the weight lifted from her body. The spell hit Bellatrix and she went flying to the other side of the room. Hermione hadn't been able to speak the spell properly because she was being choked, so Bellatrix had not been stunned, merely thrown back. Knowing her time was limited, Hermione gulped back a cough, pointed the wand towards Bellatrix and yelled, "STUPEFY!"

But then the strangest of things happened. The wand flew out of her hand and zoomed across the room into Bellatrix's outstretched fingers. Hermione looked on in amazement as Bellatrix cooed to her wand, "Come sweety, come to your Mistress!" She then looked up at Hermione's stunned face and grinned wickedly. "She's mine you Fool, she waited faithfully for fourteen years for me to come back from Azkaban and claim her... she always comes back to me!" Hermione fell back in defeat as Bellatrix slowly got up. "And now Mudblood... time for retribution!"

Bellatrix waved her wand and Hermione felt her hands and legs turn rubbery, her neck fell forward and her head bounced on her chest. Bellatrix had made all her bones disappear, well at least the ribs were no longer paining. But then she was lifted in the air and stayed there as if hanging by an invisible harness. Bellatrix gave her cold stare. "You will be able to talk, and I have two more things I need to know. If you answer honestly, your punishment will be little less painful. Blink if you understand." Hermione blinked, forcing the tears away. _Harry and Ron should've been back by now. What was taking them so long?_

"How many Horcruxes were there in total?"

"Six," Hermione whispered. Bellatrix frowned thoughtfully. "One was in the Room of Requirement. What was it?"

"Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem."

"Then there was the diary, the cup, and?" she asked. Hermione thought for a moment. It was difficult task considering Bellatrix was now now lazily moving her wand in circles making Hermione's limp body do slow cartwheels in the air. She had to come up with an answer fast. Instinct was telling her to lie about the locket, but if she was caught she would be dead. So she settled for partial truth.

"There was a locket. Salazar Slytherin's which had belonged to Voldemort's mother. It was... hidden in a cave. Dumbledore discovered it." She was feeling dizzy. But Bellatrix suddenly stopped.

"You're lying to me Granger, I can see your thoughts. You took too much time to answer."

_You can see in my mind?_ Hermione thought fearfully. "Of course I can Muddy. I am one of the most accomplished Legilimens ever, with an exception of the Dark Lord himself." Bellatrix's voice was bordering on reverence. "So tell me where was the locket actually kept?"

"It was kept in a cave. But Regulus Black stole it and tried to destroy it." Hermione resolutely kept Kreacher's face away from her mind. "But he couldn't because he didn't know how to destroy a Horcrux. It had been hidden at the Black Manor, but someone stole..."

"WHAT it was...it was at Grimmauld place? All these years?" Bellatrix looked dumbfounded, she stood still, amazed, completely forgetting about the girl-in-the-air. Hermione meanwhile was deciding to bang Harry and Ron's heads together when they finally arrived. _Where were they coming from? Taking a round route through Diagon Alley?_ Bellatrix meanwhile was lamenting to herself... "It was right under my nose all this time... I could have brought you back all those years ago My Lord... you need not have undergone such pain for so many years... I need not have gone to Azkaban... there would have been no need to..."

"...destroy the Longbottoms?" Hermione asked coldly. She was dying anyway, no use playing safe. But to her amazement Bellatrix nodded. "Actually yes..." she shrugged. "Needless exercise. Complete waste of time come to think of it, though it had been fun at the time."

"God you are revolting!" Hermione spat.

"Why thank you Mudblood, so are you! So I suppose you three, making use of the unworthy inheritance of the noble House of Black rummaged through our personal possessions, no doubt in the hope for selling them for gold, you are proven thieves after all... you found the locket and destroyed it?" She threw Hermione a most nasty look, as if she was looking at a dustbin that had not been emptied in a month.

"We never touched the possessions unless Sirius asked us to look through them, even after Harry had inherited the house and everything else, we never touched them. You did not let me complete..." Hermione shouted with her eyes closed, because Bellatrix had now placed her directly in front of the streaming sunlit window and was making funny shadows on the opposite wall. _Merlin this woman could not concentrate on one thing even when she was being dead serious! _"...and the light is blinding me. Please remove me from here," she blurted uselessly knowing the dark witch would not comply. But in yet another of the many surprises of the day, she did... well sort of. She waved her wand and Hermione found herself moving towards the dark ceiling, then she hovered for a moment on top of a burnt out torch bracket and Bellatrix lowered her on top of it. Hermione peered down with a mix of fury, frustration and tiredness. She had the sudden desire to sleep.

"You see Muddy why the dark is needed? Too much light will turn you blind," Bellatrix said wisely and Hermione could not help but contemplate on the statement.

"Anyway, you're comfortable now? Keep talking."

"Someone else stole it from Grimmauld place, and the locket landed in the hands of a Ministry official. We took it back from her."

"So that's why you three had that little adventure at the Ministry? When Yaxley reported about it, I did wonder why you would suddenly turn suicidal. But... but I can't believe Reg of all people would turn traitor. I sort of liked him, at least he was better than that mangy pug Sirius." A surge of anger rushed through Hermione.

"Regulus saw Voldemort for what he was; it was not surprising he became disenchanted!" Hermione couldn't help herself. She had felt a great deal of sympathy for Regulus, whom they had wronged all their lives based on what Sirius told them, after she heard what he had done to thwart Voldemort and save Kreacher. Bellatrix stared at her.

"Interesting... you are hanging in the air, one step away from death and defending a dead man? Very interesting... But we're straying Muddy... what were the other two Horcruxes and with whom were they kept?"

"Dumbledore destroyed Marvolo Gaunt's ring hidden at the Gaunt House. He had been Voldemort's grandfather. And the last Horcrux was Nagini. Neville Longbottom killed her." Even in this situation Hermione couldn't keep a sense of pride and defiance from her voice. But Bellatrix was no longer paying attention. She looked faraway as she began mumbling to herself again. Hermione strained her ears to listen from atop the torch bracket she was currently straddling.

"...why did you not tell me my Lord... so many years wasted... so much we could accomplish together... if only you trusted me enough... at least about the cup..." Bellatrix sighed deeply.

"You said you knew..." Hermione accused. Bellatrix looked up and considered her for a full minute, then said.

"When I returned from Azkaban, I saw that my Lord was terribly angry with Lucius. After a little... well let's say cajoling, Narcissa told me Lucius had lost a very important artifact that the Lord had kept in his care. That stupid goat. He was allowed to live only because I offered Malfoy Manor to Master. Immediately after, He questioned me if the cup was safe at Gringotts. I assured him it was. And then I heard how My Lord had achieved the miracle of restoring himself. I started connecting the dots. I told you, Master himself taught me the dark arts. It was not impossible to guess, but because I could never ask him I could never be sure. Well until last night of course."

Hermione was feeling tired, very very tired and she really really wanted to sleep. Her friends had abandoned her, but at least they were safely away... Bellatrix could just kill her and be done with it. Would it be less painful if she died in her sleep? She wanted to close her eyes only for a couple of minutes. Flopped on the torch bracket Hermione could see the dark witch pacing and talking in a top shot, like in those Muggle movies... Muggles... her parents would never know they had a daughter... wait no one else knew about their family grave... where would they bury her? Of course there was a possibility Bellatrix would blast her apart, no remains to bury, no troubles. Harry and Ron would frame her picture probably... would Ron carry her photo in his wallet like her Dad carried her Mum's? Would McGonagall allow one portrait of her at Hogwarts? How she loved her school... but she didn't want a statue at a town square... she could see herself... black marble robes, marble wand held aloft, her stance that of a warrior, oh but they had also given her a book in her left hand... how sweet of them... and her face... Oh No! her head and face was covered in bird shit! Eeww... this was why she had not wanted a statue in the first place... now everything was black... she couldn't see anything... all black...

A sudden almighty lurch pulled Hermione out of her daze, and she felt herself being lifted out of the bracket and flopped on the floor. Apparently she had not died at all... how sad! She looked up hazily at Bellatrix and saw the witch silently move her wand in a complicated movement as if drawing the figure eight in the air and then felt a sharp sting which seemed to cover her entire body neck down. And then just as suddenly as it had happened, it was gone. It took her a few moments to collect her thoughts and she realized the dark witch had given her back her bones. But she wasn't feeling any pain in her ribs... no in fact she was suddenly not feeling even remotely tired, she felt fresher than she had felt in some time. She looked up incredulously at Bellatrix.

"Did you just heal me?" disbelief was prominent in her voice. Bellatrix made a face.

"I cannot let to sleep off Mud, not when I'm in NOT singing a lullaby and NOT when I still have to get the most important answer from you!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "What now?"

"Stand up!" Bellatrix commanded. There was something always so menacing about Bellatrix that Hermione knew she would've obeyed even if there was not a wand pointed at her chest. She stood up, _Oh Bones how I missed you! _

"Sit down" Bellatrix commanded again.

"Why ask me to stand up then?" Hermione asked. Bellatrix silently pointed behind her. Hermione turned around to find a similar black and silver throne chair, and after hesitating for a few seconds she gingerly sat on the edge. Bellatrix was slowly pacing, eyes fixed on Hermione. The young woman was suddenly reminded of a scene she had seen in a Muggle television channel, a tigress prowling around her prey, while a small deer cowered in a corner, waiting to be devoured, seeing no way of escape whatsoever.

"Well..." she finally asked, when Bellatrix did not ask anything further.

"MY LORD..." Bellatrix shouted furiously. "How did Potter kill the greatest wizard of all times?"

"Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of all times..." Bellatrix growled in reply to that claim. _She actually growled! Is she even human? _Hermione gulped and continued, "And you can ask Harry how he did it." Hermione was trying to stretch this conversation as long as possible, the return of her bones had given her some new hope.

"Don't tell me he did not tell you, because I know he did," Bellatrix snarled.

"Fine, what happened a while ago with your wand... the same happened with Voldemort and Harry. The elder wand had been Dumbledore's. When Draco Malfoy disarmed him, the wand became his. But Voldemort thought it had passed to Snape because Snape had killed the previous owner. But that night at the Malfoy Manor, Harry defeated Draco and by default the Elder wand became his. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry with his own wand..."

"...the killing curse backfired because Potter had cast a disarming spell" Bellatrix said in a strained whisper and smacked her palm to her head.

"How do you know?" Hermione said.

"I told you I was looking for him, He had disappeared, I went to see if he needed m... help. He was dueling Potter, so I thought it would be cake walk but then some weird things started happening... I've never seen anything of the sort... I tried to intervene, but my wand... I had to use your stupid wand actually since you had stolen mine and disappeared with Ollivander... anyway when I tried to curse Potter, my spell got caught in their crossfire and blasted the bloody wand... and then..." Bellatrix's voice was barely more than a whisper, but Hermione could catch every word.

"... and then His wand flew and went to Potter... and just like that... He was gone..." Hermione was astound to see Bellatrix's eyes fill with tears. Being obsessed with someone powerful was something... but what the hell was this?! Nevertheless she decided this was the opportunity to ask something that had been niggling at the back of her mind all day.

"He is really gone this time isn't it?" she asked carefully, as carefully as one should approach an active volcano. And she was pretty sure that under normal circumstances Bellatrix would never entertain her question. But for once, the dark witch seemed to be at her most vulnerable. She sighed and nodded, then slowly rolled up her left sleeve. Hermione felt immense relief wash over her as she found the dark mark gone, leaving behind clear unblemished porcelain skin.

No, not unblemished... there was something on Bellatrix's hand... thin white scars they seemed. Hermione squinted and realized they were uneven letters carved out. She tried to read, but Bellatrix had already noticed what she was doing and pulled her sleeve down. She glared at Hermione for a moment but then turned away towards the window. Hermione furtively looked at the door. She could take another attempt at escape. But just as she was about to get up, Bellatrix turned around and spoke again.

"I don't understand, why then had Potter survived the first time? When he was a baby I mean. There was no wand ownership then... Hell even Lucius' wand had not worked... and then in the forest, he was not even carrying a wand, why did he not die then?"

"Because when Voldemort had gone to kill Harry so many years ago, he created an unintended Horcrux. He..." But Bellatrix had held up a hand to stop Hermione and the latter knew that the older witch had finally gotten the whole picture. She took see a tick working on her temple and then Bellatrix let out a furious yell and punched the wall beside her. Blood flowed freely from her knuckles but Bellatrix paid no attention to it.

"So many times... so many times I told him to let Me kill the boy. If only he had agreed. If only I had disobeyed him that one time, none of this would've happened. We could have ruled the world!" _Hermione silently thanked every power in the universe that that had not been the case. _

"So many mistakes... all because of your stubbornness, your need to tell your secrets to no one... your unreasonable demand to always be alone... Why my Lord why?" Tears were finally flowing down her cheek. Despite her disgust at the whole happening, Hermione decided to give Bellatrix a few moments. The woman was in mourning, she couldn't bring herself to disturb her. After a few minutes Bellatrix suddenly seemed to recall where and with whom she was, which made her frown and quickly wipe away the errant tears. She looked grimly at Hermione, as if trying to decide what to do next with her, now that she knew all she needed to know.

"They're coming with the Veritaserum you know... once they know you were never Imperiused... Harry and Ron will not stop them from feeding you the potion." Bellatrix gave her wry smile. "If you must know Mudblood... Veritaserum does not work on me either!"

"Are you human?" Hermione really needed to know this. Bellatrix cackled again. "Unfortunately yes. But I was fed this potion from when I was eight years old. In small portions, each day, every day until it got diluted with my blood and stopped having any effect on me whatsoever."

"Why?" Hermione was puzzled and strangely concerned. But Bellatrix seemed to already regret the revelation.

"That Muddy is none of your business! Anyway what do i do with you now? You deserve punishment of course."

"Whatever you do, the only place you go from here is to Azkaban... for life!" Hermione spoke more bravely than she felt. Bellatrix raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I am! That's the punishment you deserve for all the atrocities you've committed! Kill me, torture me, I want my friends to come and see you at it, so that your punishments are increased tenfold!" Bellatrix looked at her, again with an unreadable expression, which Hermione knew now was a way to probe into her mind. Hermione stared right back and rebelliously began imagining Bellatrix being repeatedly drowned in the north sea, pushed from the astronomy tower and thrown to giants. A while later Bellatrix chuckled out. "Nice imagination you've got there Muddy, but... you're not as good as me!"

Hermione tried to gauge the meaning of that statement. "What exactly does that mean?" she asked as coldly as she could. Bellatrix smiled mischievously.

"I should inform you girl that I don't keep debts... money, loyalty, favor, pain, humiliation, whatever you give me, I will return the same with interest." Bellatrix was suddenly becoming playful again. This could mean nothing good. "You caused me immense humiliation. First you escape from the Ministry, then you escape again from Malfoy Manor, and then you steal my most prized possession from my vault. You cost me my Master's trust girl, for the first time he punished me in front of others. I have never felt more humiliated. My own friends doubted me... it is time that debt was returned to you..."

Hermione squirmed in the chair, watching Bellatrix's grin widening. And then finally... she heard footsteps approaching. Hermione's heart leapt, her friends were coming back. She would be safe, she smiled... Bellatrix however was still standing in front of her, still grinning madly... and then she moved.

It must have taken the people outside about five seconds to reach the door, another four/five seconds to remove the wards, and maximum two more seconds to push the heavy door open. A total of ten to twelve seconds only. But in those scarce seconds Bellatrix moved at a lightning speed, Hermione shrunk back in her chair, but the dark witch did not attack her... at all. Instead she fell to her knees in front of Hermione, pushed her wand back in Hermione's hand, and then held the young girls head in her two hands, curling her fingers around the soft brown locks. There was that minutest moment when Hermione stared in the dark witch eyes with great confusion... and then, without warning Bellatrix pulled her forward and smashed their lips together...

End result: Harry, Ron, Kingsley, Prof. McGonagall and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley along with another Auror pooled into the room to find Hermione had Bellatrix down on her knees and was snogging her like her life depended on it!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Wow you guys are GREAT! Thanks a ton for all the lovely reviews, favourites and follows.

A special shout out to **333Nightfire** for sticking with me from the very first chapter.

**ScOut4It** and **RubyRedLovett **thank you so much for the chapter wise reviews. I lovett.

**The God Emperor SDC- **my gratitude for pointing out my errors and weaknesses. I'm working on them. Do let me know how I fare.

**JohnnyS and Dragul-** You expressed your surprise that Bellatrix was more lenient than you expected... Maybe you'll find the answer in this chapter... Maybe!

**A/N2-** **Important: This chapter we will take a sneak peak into Bella's mind. I have differentiated Bella and Hermione's POVs with xxxxx. Hope its not confusing. Ok now I'll shut up and let you read. **

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the genius of JK Rowling. I own nothing.**

Chapter 6

Unexpected and Unknown

Hermione remained frozen for she didn't know how long. Her brain, still foggy was slow in processing everything. _Ok so she was alive and unhurt... But... there were another pair of lips on her own. Why though? Oh right, she was being kissed. Whose lips were they again? Bellatrix Lestrange... Ohh, ok ok... WHAT! NO, Not Ok, Not at all Ok! What the supreme fuck! _

Returning to her senses, Hermione immediately pushed the woman away and stood up so suddenly that she slightly lost her balance, stumbling to stay upright. She stared wide-eyed at Bellatrix, who was now on the floor, slightly flushed herself... But she recovered quickly enough and now looked awfully smug. She picked herself up and without a word went to sit on the throne chair, the unconcerned and unaffected persona back in place.

Hermione on the other hand, still shocked and terribly confused, turned wildly to look at the newcomers.

_The Muggles had been wrong after all, there was no Apocalypse coming. This was how the world was supposed to end in reality! Bellatrix Lestrange had kissed Hermione Granger... boom! And that everyone was the end of the world._

Or that would have been if Hermione had been incredibly lucky... but of late Hermione was not feeling very lucky. Nope, not lucky at all because her favourite teacher, Professor Minerva McGonagall for instance, looked like she could cry.

"Ms. Granger?" she half-whispered her name.

Hermione noticed the question in the way her name was called, she vigorously shook her head, unable to form words and turned her pleading eyes towards Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who both looked like they had been confunded; beside them was their son, Hermione's brand new boyfriend Ron and her best friend Harry Potter, and while Harry looked like he might've been hit by a Bludger, Ron had become so red that Hermione had trouble making out where his hair ended and his face began. But Hermione ignored these signs as relief washed through her at the very sights of the two boys. Her friends were here, she was safe now! She vindictively glanced at Bellatrix; _there would be justice now!_

She opened her mouth to tell them what that evil woman had done to her, but...

"What in the name of Merlin's baggy y-fronts are you doing Hermione?" Ron screamed, looking ready to burst. Hermione's heart sank faster than a ship with a black-lake sized hole.

"Ronald, you do Not use that language," Mrs. Weasley's scream superseded her son's. Apparently grief, shock, incredulity, nothing could come in her way of teaching her son good behaviour.

"To hell with language Mum, I need to know why my girlfriend was snogging the Death Eater!"

Hermione did a double take at this. "I... I was... what in Merlin's name are you saying Ron? I did not do anything, it was her; She attacked me! She did everything!" Hermione said half-stunned, half-furious.

"Hermione, but Bellatrix was Imperiused, she could do only what was ordered to her," Harry said quietly.

"Oh No Harry, she was never Imperiused... it was all pretence!" Hermione's voice was now cracking, her eyes shining with tears. She couldn't believe her friends were questioning her over something so ridiculous. Then she looked around at the others, really looked, properly registering the different reactions, her eyes finally settling on a troubled looking Kingsley and another equally troubled stranger with a small flask in his hand. Hermione came to a sickening realization.

"You don't believe me?" she let out a strangled whisper. No one admitted, but no one refused either. Anger and humiliation filled every pore of her being, this could not be happening to her.

"SHE DID IT... BELIEVE ME IT WAS ALL HER!" Hermione shrieked pointing at Bellatrix, who in turn looked up at them with all the innocence of a newborn, as if she had not just snogged the hell out of Hermione in front of a whole crowd of people.

Hermione rushed over to the dark witch. "TELL THEM THE TRUTH!" she demanded fiercely. Bellatrix looked at her with wide eyes and batted her lashes once, twice, like a puppet.

"Did what? What're you talking about?" she asked innocently, and then winked at Hermione, so subtly that the girl was sure no one else had seen it.

Hermione's knuckles turned white as she clenched her fist, and her jaw. For the first in her life, Hermione felt capable of murder. But logic in the face of peril was a speciality of Hermione Granger, so she decided not to waste her time and instead turned back to her... friends?! Doing her best to control her temper, Hermione tried to explain again in a more patient voice.

"How long have you all known me? Seven years!... And you actually think I'd do something like this? She attacked me after you two left. I thought I was going to die in here! Does that make any freaking sense to any of you?" the pain in her voice was evident now, and though she spoke to everybody, her attention remained primarily on her two best friends.

Bellatrix suddenly made to stand up, but reacting on what seemed to be years of experience that sharpened one's instinct, Kingsley pointed his wand directly at her and chains flew out the end and bound Bellatrix to the very chair she had conjured. The dark witch fell back in her seat and frowned at Kingsley, and then pouted.

"Hey, I wasn't going to do anything," she said in a petulant voice.

"And I believe you, I totally believe you," Kingsley threw back at her grimly. Bellatrix made a face and turned her face away.

"Why did you unchain her Hermione? Imperiused or not, wandless or not, SHE is dangerous," Kingsley chided her.

"I did not unchain her, she did it herself with my wand."

"You still have your wand on you Madam," Kingsley's companion smugly pointed out. Hermione scowled.

"I didn't have it with me then. She pushed it back in my hands just before you people came in." And even to Hermione herself, it sounded weird so she was not surprised by the disbelieving looks she received.

"Bellatrix took your wand and then returned it to you?" Harry said frowning deeply. "She pretended to be Imperiused when she was not... this is all very confusing."

"You have no idea what happened in this room... this woman is a freaking actress! She was waiting for us to let our guards down and I just walked into her trap."

"You said she attacked you? Did she hurt you?" Ron asked. Hermione looked at him sharply. Her first reaction was to say _Fuck Off_, but instead, she stiffly shook her head.

"She had hurt me, but then again she healed me," Hermione said coldly. Everyone again looked at her in surprise.

"And now I know what it was all about, she just wanted to make me look guilty in front of my own people. She wanted my own friends to distrust me, like we had caused her Lord to do to her." Hermione paused and looked around sadly. "And from what I see, she succeeded. Congratulations Bellatrix!"

"Mione No!" Ron now sounded alarmed. "We believe you... I do. But just like Harry said, we were confused. And you don't know but a lot has happened outside this room also; And coming from all that..." his finished lamely.

"Hermione," Mr. Weasley spoke in an appeasing way, "Evidently this is a huge misunderstanding. And I suggest you tell us exactly what happened here, only that will help clear everything. And sorry for behaving like idiots a while back dear, but we do believe you. We have known you for years, and believe me we also know perfectly well what Bellatrix Lestrange is capable of. It is just that we suddenly came in and saw... THAT and, well we were sort of caught off guard."

His calm voice in turn calmed Hermione. He gave her a reassuring smile, and she suddenly missed her own father very much. But something Ron had just said had caught her attention.

"Now what has happened?" she asked curiously and also slightly alarmed. But Kingsley cut her across.

"Not now Hermione. First we need to know what happened in here. Please tell us everything. Leave out nothing; you never know what might help in building the case against her."

Hermione immediately started talking. She told them everything, right from Bellatrix's playacting to how she had taken Hermione by surprise and overpowered her, their struggle, the wand's weird behaviour, Bellatrix questioning her and her inability to do anything but reply. But then she stumbled. How could she tell them everything without giving out the truth about the Horcruxes. She looked questioningly at Harry, and the three had a silent conversation about whether or not to reveal Voldemort's secret to them. Bellatrix took the decision out of their hands.

"I only wanted to know the details about how my Lord could be killed by a nappy baby, and especially since the Horcruxes had practically sealed his immortality." Bellatrix grinned cheekily at their furious looks warning her to shut up.

Hermione shut her eyes and breathed through her nose suppressing her desire to bang Bellatrix's head on the wall, repeatedly. _Oh that sadistic bitch! _There was no going back now as everyone had started expressing their confusion regarding the foreign term. Nobody other than Professor McGonagall had ever heard about them, and even then she did not know the details. So Hermione, helped by Harry and Ron told them the entire truth about the mission Dumbledore left them, recounting their adventures of the past year, as they went about retrieving the evil objects, and how the final three was destroyed at Hogwarts.

"You were running about for the past year carrying pieces of You-Know-Who's soul with you..." Mrs. Weasley sounded faint. "Why didn't I just dig your graves and keep the wreaths ready!"

"Yes, but as you can see Molly dear, they succeeded," Mr. Weasley gently reminded her giving the three children a proud look. His wife mutely nodded, her eyes already shining with tears.

They finished their tale with the way the darkest wizard of all times had at last been destroyed. Hermione ended by telling them about Bellatrix's sudden manic act that she had claimed was revenge for all the times Hermione and her friends had defeated her. She remembered to give them every little detail of her interrogation.

"So Voldemort is really gone this time?" McGonagall asked uneasily. "You're sure there are no more of those Horcruxes?"

"Positive," Harry said firmly. "He is gone."

"And so has the dark mark," Hermione added, pointing at Bellatrix's arm. The dark witch however did not oblige and show it to them, like she had done to Hermione. In fact she did not even turn. She was looking at the sun, so intensely that Hermione felt as if she was silently challenging it to make her blink.

"But if she was not Imperiused, then there is no proof anything she said was true?" Mrs. Weasley's sudden loud voice made Hermione look away from the dark witch.

"All that tale about Andromeda is probably all nonsense... for all we know, she too has some Horcruxes stored away." Mrs. Weasley sounded hopeful and excited.

Hermione was even more shocked by this revelation. Molly Weasley knew about the Andromeda thing? But how? She once again turned her questioning glance at the boys, who nodded grimly.

"I don't think so Molly, we do have evidence of Andromeda's death," McGonagall said slowly. Mrs. Weasley chose to ignore this, and looked eagerly at Kingsley Shaklebolt.

"We shall have answers soon Molly," Kingsley said. "Branson here has got the Veritaserum." He pointed to the small flask in the other man's hands. Bellatrix turned her head at this.

"Veritaserum does not work on her either," Hermione said automatically. "Bellatrix herself told me so." She quickly added.

"How is that possible?" Branson asked puzzled.

And then Bellatrix looked at Hermione once. It was not a warning look, nor was there any threat, or any pleading or anything at all. It was a blank look, and just like that Hermione decided to keep Bellatrix' little piece of childhood secret to herself. Why? She did not know.

"We cannot take her word for it Hermione, plus its Ministry procedure, we have to have concrete proof of her statement if we are to nail her" Kingsley said. "And... this might get a little unpleasant so maybe you three should leave us to it," he added gently.

Hermione was sure that Harry and Ron mirrored her surprised and slightly hurt looks at this abrupt dismissal. But Kingsley gave them apologetic looks.

"You three have been through a lot already, it is time we took over your burdens."

Harry opened his mouth to obviously argue, but Kingsley held up his hand. "NO, Harry, you asked me to grant you a chance to interrogate Bellatrix and I agreed, now I ask this of you." There was nothing left to say after this, but that didn't stop them from feeling indignant. Hermione felt torn between seeing how true Bellatrix's claim about Veritaserum was, and finding out how Andromeda's death had become public knowledge.

Kingsley significantly cleared his throat. "In fact I suggest we Aurors should be left to our task. Maybe you should also..."

"No way, I need to find out how she got away alive. Don't mind Kingsley, but this is personal." Mrs. Weasley fiercely stated.

"I'm not leaving Molly alone here with this woman Kingsley," Mr. Weasley said flatly.

"And as I reminded you back in the great hall Shaklebolt, Hogwarts grounds are not within direct Ministry jurisdiction. It is my right as much as my duty to know everything that goes on here." McGonagall said tartly.

Unfortunately Harry, Hermione or Ron did not have similar arguments in their favour, so after much hesitation, covert scowling and dawdling as long as possible, the three silently made their way out of the room. Hermione was about to close the door behind her, when that horrible sing-song voice called out to her.

"Muuudddyyy..."

That was not Hermione's name and she should not answer to that insulting term, but her body had paused and turned around even before her brain processed all this.

"It was nice talking to you. Will I see you around?"

"Not unless I fancy a day visit to Azkaban!" Hermione retorted and without any further ado, shut the door behind her. There were only two Aurors outside now, Hermione noticed. There was a prolonged awkward moment where Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other not knowing what to say. But Hermione's curiosity won over her disappointment with her friends.

And as soon as they were out of ear shot she asked, "What has happened? What were Kingsley and McGonagall talking about?"

And as they walked the boys began their part of the tale.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

As the Golden Three left McGonagall's office, Kingsley and Branson had a quick hushed discussion, while the Professor and the Weasley couple exchanged nervous glances. Bellatrix meanwhile was bored out of her mind, and she knew this whole thing would be a waste of time, because she had not lied to the Mudblood. That potion was not going to affect her in any way, and this time she wasn't even in the mood to play along. At last Kingsley stepped forward.

"Madam Lestrange, Hermione Granger's testimony proves that you have been most uncooperative, as such I'm afraid I have to resort to more unpleasant means to deduce the truth from you. Branson here will give you Veritaserum."

"Which Shaklebolt will be a completely meaningless," Bellatrix sneered. "The Mudblood was right, that potion is as effective on me as pumpkin juice!"

"Bellatrix, you will not call Ms. Granger that," McGonagall spat out. "For all your parentage, Hermione is worth twelve of you!"

If looks could kill, then the one the elderly teacher received at that moment from the dark witch would ensure she was buried deep under the ground by now.

"Madam Lestrange," Kingsley quickly said before Bellatrix could think up a retort. "It is Ministry procedure to have proof of your identity. Your confessions will be used for future reference in front of the Wizengamot during your trial."

"Oh I'm pretty sure she already knows all this, Sir," Branson said with a smirk. "Prior experience and all...!"

"Dickhead, if you really have the balls, unchain me and say that again," Bellatrix said in a chilling whisper. Branson's smirk disappeared.

"Madam Lestrange, you're..."

"You're pronouncing it wrong you know," Bellatrix said conversationally. "Most people pronounce it wrong though. It's actually L'etange, as in pause, not 'strange' as in change."

"Enough!" Mrs. Weasley screamed. "Are we taking French lessons from this lunatic? Kingsley I need to know if a word of what this woman has said is true? For all we know this is some elaborate scheme to launch another dark regime! On my part I refused to believe that was Andromeda, I'm not blind you know, and I have to know how this bitch got away despite me finishing her off for good."

"Oh please Ketchup, don't flatter yourself thinking you can ever get the better of me! In cooking soups and de-feathering chicken? Maybe; But in a duel? Cherry brain I could defeat you with both hands tied behind my back." Bellatrix's calm, I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude seemed to inflame Mrs. Weasley even more.

"Fine then, bring it on shall we?" she yelled pulling out her wand. Kingsley looked alarmingly at Mr. Weasley who immediately tightened his grip on his wife. "Molly, what did we discuss when we came here? You're going to hold your temper. If you have another breakdown, we are not staying here." Bellatrix did not even move a muscle, continuing to sit in a relaxed posture, though her eyes were fixed on the wand.

"This is why, I wanted none of you to be here," Kingsley muttered, and everyone ignored him, their eyes now on Branson, who had procured a goblet out of thin air and poured some clear potion in it.

"Madame Lestrange," Kingsley took care to pronounce the name as demanded, he didn't need anymore drama. "Please drink this. And know that I will tell you only once. If you cause trouble of the slightest measure, I will put a full body-bind curse on you and force it down your throat. Have I made myself clear?"

"Aww... Shaks, don't be so mean!" that singsongvoice could inflame an ice cube.

"That's right Kingsley, we have no right to be mean to the meanest creature on earth," Mr. Weasley said, shaking his head in incredulity. Bellatrix was still looking at Kingsley.

"Why Shaks, are you angry with me for defeating you in the Department of Mysteries? Or... is this because I refused to go on that date with you in my fifth year?"

Every head in the room turned towards Kingsley, who to his utter credit continued to look calm, though there was a faint nerve visible on his temple. Instead of replying he held out his wand and made the goblet move through the air towards Bellatrix and looked pointedly at her. Expecting the worst, every wizard and witch in the room pointed their wands towards the captive witch. Bellatrix studied them in turn, before grabbing the goblet with her chained hands, she winked at Kingsley and drank deeply.

Everyone waited with bated breath, as Bellatrix slowly lowered the goblet, for a moment nothing happened and her face remained impassive, but then she frowned slightly at the goblet looking contemplative.

"Madam Lestrange?" Kingsley quietly called. Bellatrix slowly looked up at him.

"Next time, add a dash of mint, will you Shaks!"

The tensed onlookers groaned in unison as the incorrigible woman threw her head back and cackled in glee, her voice echoing across the cavernous room.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Steering clear from the slowly drifting crowds of students and families, Hermione, Harry and Ron had slipped through one of their short-cuts to an empty corridor. The boys were telling her about what had happened when she had been stuck with Bellatrix; and they did not exactly have good news.

"I never planned on revealing anything to them Hermione," Harry said. "I wanted to speak to Kingsley alone, but when I finally found him, McGonagall was also there and she insisted on being present, so I told them everything. The whole fucked up situation as best as I could. Well you can imagine, they were shocked beyond belief to learn of Andromeda's truth, but then like us, they too questioned the credibility of Bellatrix's statement. They wanted to speak to her again before they came to any decision. But as we were on our way back..." Harry trailed away and looked expectantly at Ron.

"...they met mayhem in the form of my family and Ted Tonks." Ron said grimly. Hermione gasped.

"What's he doing here? Does he... already know?" she asked fearfully. This was just what she had been scared of. But Ron shook his head.

"Andromeda had the same family clock Mum does, so she knew when... umm, you know when Tonk's clock hand suddenly pointed at 'Lost' and according to Ted, she was gone in a thrice, before he could even think about stopping her. He couldn't find anyone to keep little Teddy with so he couldn't follow her. Then today morning he got word that the war had ended and Voldemort was gone. But now Andromeda's hand was also pointing the same way. Unable to believe he had lost his whole family in a single night, he came over with Teddy to Hogwarts. By the time I arrived, he had already told them of Andromeda's being here, but obviously no one had seen her. So umm... well as you can guess there was complete confusion. Ted was convinced Andromeda was still there and began looking for her like crazy, nothing anyone said could stop him... And then he found a pendant belonging to Andromeda..."

"... right where Mrs. Weasley had blasted the supposed Bellatrix." Harry finished. Hermione smacked her hand on her face. She had thought back there in the room that things could not be worse; evidently she was grossly mistaken.

"And?" she asked fearing the worst.

"Well everything could've just fallen apart there itself, but McGonagall did great. She just took the situation under her control and informed everyone that Andromeda had died fighting for her daughter. Then she asked Slughorn to take Ted and the baby to his office, and make sure they speak to no one until everything got sorted out." Harry stopped and leaned against the wall. Harry and Ron looked as exhausted as Hermione felt.

"Then Kingsley and McGonagall took mum and dad aside and told them everything about Bellatrix, except of course the bit that Fred might've killed Tonks and all that. The lesser people know the better." Ron said looking thoroughly troubled.

"God, and here I was thinking everything was now going to be fine," Hermione sounded slightly hysterical. Ron tried to put his arm around her, but she moved away slightly. She could now understand why her friends might have reacted the way they did, but that didn't mean she wasn't absolutely pissed off with both of them.

"I'm assuming Mrs. Weasley freaked out?"

"Blimey it was bad," Ron said. "In all my life I haven't seen her lose her shit in this way. And that's saying something because she usually has a weekly freak out session. She screamed and cried and screamed again. It took dad, McGonagall and Kingley ages to calm her."

Hermione remained quiet for the rest of the time thinking back on everything. Suddenly the war seemed to be far from over; the combats had ended, but personal wars on so many levels had begun. She supposed that was how it must've been with wars. Books stop at cease fires and peace treaty signings, but real life went on... and now she had first-hand experience about what exactly it was like.

"Mione..." Ron called her in small voice. Hermione half-turned; "I'm sorry, about... about what happened back there."

"Yeah Hermione we're both sorry, but we never meant to hurt you. We were just you know... shocked, it was so unexpected." Harry said, looking as sorry as his words.

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose. She could never stay angry for very long with her boys but this time she was hurt. Always brilliant and consequently mostly a loner, her parents had been her world. And then at eleven she was thrown into the world of magic, a world where her parents could no longer be with her. She had been more terrified than she would care to admit. She had tried so hard to be friends with everyone back then, but she refused to dumb down for anybody's sake. In books she found her solace... And then these two boys had fallen into her life, saved her from a mountain troll and accepted her as she was. It had felt great to finally belong, and she had been so grateful for that that she often let them walk over her, allowing them slacker than she would to anyone else. Her best friends, effectively her brother and her boyfriend were the two people for whom she had been to hell and back, whose nature of getting into constant trouble had caused her to break every model and every limit that she had made for herself, fall headlong into terrifying adventures, be petrified, shunned aside first for a rat, and then for a broomstick even when she had their best interests... being the victim of their internal jealousies, not to mention their absolute lack of romantic knowledge. She, Hermione Granger had risked her life for her friends without question, and she had done it without any expectations. So when these same people had stood there with accusing looks in their eyes, doubting her integrity and her words, even if for a few minutes, it had cut her bad and deep.

"You know what happened back there... it was so ridiculous that I don't even know how to react." Hermione said slowly. "I mean what exactly were you thinking when you accused me for kissing Bellatrix Lestrange? What was going on in your brilliant but rarely used brains? I'd actually like to know that."

Both boys looked extremely sheepish and neither answered. Hermione waited silently, refusing to give up without an answer. At last Harry sighed.

"Well... umm... I'm not sure I was clearly thinking as such, I think I sort of became blank. I expected to come back and find Bellatrix as we left her you know, all slumped and compliant... I may have thought for a few minutes that perhaps you changed tactics... you know... convince her in... Umm other ways to reveal her secrets..." he looked very uncomfortable and did his best to avoid meeting her eyes. Hermione continued to look at him for a few more seconds before turning onto Ron, who had been quietly shuffling his feet.

"And what about you?" Hermione demanded. Ron looked taken aback.

"What about me?" he asked scared.

"Shove it Ron, your blaming voice was the loudest in the room. And you are supposed to be my boyfriend, I should have had you beside me immediately, pushing that evil woman away and asking me if I'm alright... that's what normally boyfriends do. So why was it not the same in your case?"

"I swear Mione, I blanked out when I saw you and her... doing that! I kind of just lost it."

"Ron, I thought we were done with your trust issues?" Hermione said sadly. She really didn't want to go back there, that nightmare of a time when he had left them, jealous and riddled with baseless suspicions. But if Ron was yet to overcome them, things would have to be put into perspective.

"NO, Please Mione, it wasn't like that. I... I wondered if you were taking revenge for what happened at the Malfoy Manor..." Ron's voice was barely above a whisper and he was doing his very best to blend in with the wall behind him.

"You mean you both thought, for whatever reasons... that I was trying to seduce Bellatrix Lestrange?" Hermione frowned, unsure whether to find it hilarious or insulting, or just pinch herself awake from what was surely a very nasty nightmare.

"Seven effing years guys... and you don't even know me a little bit do you? To think that I... Hermione Granger will voluntarily kiss Bellatrix Lestrange? That i will send you out of the room to have an impromptu make out session with a death eater? The same woman who tortured me and marked me in the worst possible way!" She pushed her sleeve up, and the word **_mudblood_** gleamed in the sunlight.

Hermione knew her voice had risen again, as the boys turned paler, but she had decided it was time to clear out certain things. Harry and Ron had spent all last year walking all over her, and she had done her best to not complain given the situation they were in, but if her friends thought they could continue this forever, they were mistaken. She had neither lost her temper at the drop of a hat like Harry nor had she walked out on friends like Ron did. But by Jove she was angry. She was angry with Dumbledore for leaving them with more questions than answers, she was angry with Voldemort and his stupid power games that had so horribly spiced up her school life, she was angry with the grownups for not being of much help, she was angry with her friends who had blindly let her be the brain of the group and blundered on happily letting her handle all the pressure and now had the audacity to doubt her over something so ridiculous that she couldn't even begin to make sense of it. And right now she was most angry with that Bellatrix for her games and the fact that she always managed to make Hermione feel so helpless. She despised that woman with all her heart.

And by the time Hermione had finished telling Harry and Ron all this (sparing no details and cutting no slack), her friends looked mortified.

"Look I get it all right, both of you have lost families to this war, and it might seem to you that I got off easier but they were my friends too. News flash people the dry, humorless bookworm has feelings... I am hurting as bad, even though I do not take it out on others..." Hermione paused a took a deep breath and braced herself.

"And Ron it looks like we're still not ready to take the next step in our relationship... so maybe we should just remain frien..."

"NO!" Ron screeched in panic. "No no please Hermione, don't do this. I understand you're pissed off and you've every right to be. But please don't just dump me for this! We've waited years for this Mione, and I promise I'll be a good boyfriend... No more mistakes, Promise. I'll do it right, please Mione, don't give up on us... on me..."

Ron looked petrified and even Harry looked fearful, and looking at them Hermione felt her anger slightly ebb away. She had not intended to break up or anything, because she loved him. He was the only boy she had ever loved. That was all her temper doing the talking. And on second thoughts if she did that she would let Bellatrix win wouldn't she...

"Fine, but you need to get over your insecurities Ron if we are to make this work," she said firmly. Ron nodded, his features set in decision.

"I promise Mione... here on you'll have only my best," he said sincerely. Hermione finally gave him a small smile.

Another awkward silence fell between them. Keen to avoid tense topics or repeated discussion of the war, they did not know what else to talk about. After some time Harry cleared his throat.

"Can we visit Hagrid? I haven't seen him since the battle. And he had it rough, they had him tied up in the forest for Merlin knows how long..."

Hermione bit her lip to stop herself grinning. This had been Harry's tactic to deal with her and Ron's fight for the last seven years; when he couldn't stop their bickering or 'I'm-never-gonna-talk-to-you sessions, he immediately brought in a fourth person who would compel Ron and her back into civil conversation. Once that happened they could figure out their issues themselves.

Ron immediately agreed to this hoping as his friend that Hagrid's pure and innocent nature would balm over Hermione's hurt and anger, but the girl had one thing she needed to do, and now was the best time for it.

"You both go ahead, I'll join you in a while," she told them. "I need to go to the Headmaster's office."

"Why?" Harry asked puzzled.

"I still need to return Dumbledore's books, the ones on the Horcruxes."

"Why don't you just destroy the books?" Ron suggested. "No one will ever find out about that evil magic ever again."

Hermione smiled at Ron naivety. "Honestly Ron you think these are the only books in the world on this subject? And they are not my property so it is not for me to decide."

"You want us to come along?"

"Nope, I better go alone. I'll see you at Hagrid's." With that Hermione turned around and walked towards the Headmaster's office.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Kingsley and Branson had almost emptied the entire vial of Veritaserum before they finally gave up and left. Bellatrix watched as the heavy doors shut with a resounding clang; she sighed and sat back against the beam to which she had been chained up again. After what seemed like hours of babbling voices irritating the hell out of her, the silence felt good. She liked silence, or maybe the lack of conversation just felt more familiar.

Judging by the sun, it was already midday, which meant she had already been here for hours. Bellatrix knew all too well how Ministry procedures worked, which meant she would soon be getting a visit from her dear little sister. According to Magical law, she could not be held in custody if definite proof of her identity could not be acquired, not matter what she confessed. So they would have to call in her family to identify her, which is where Narcissa would come in.

Personally Bellatrix thought torture was the best method of interrogation, it is what she would've done. Or better still just kill and be over with it. But she knew that was not how these righteous bastards worked. In fact she had counted on it. Bellatrix smiled... the stupid idiots were so predictable. Well at least something was happening according to plans.

She thought back to the events that had led her here; it was huge risk she had taken, letting herself be caught, but she had thought everything over carefully. Thought... so strange it seemed, Bellatrix was thinking clearly after ages and she knew what had brought about this sudden clarity of mind- the destruction of the Horcrux.

_In her secret pursuit of Potter last night, there had been that moment when she had felt a sudden intense pain, greater even than the Cruciatus. It had felt like someone had attempted to wrench her out of her own body, she had felt blinded and paralyzed by it. And then it has disappeared just as suddenly and Bellatrix had felt drained, exhausted like she had been running for miles; but oddly also relieved, as if someone she had been carrying on her shoulders for a very long time had suddenly gotten off. She had lain there scared and confused, a few times even stamped upon by a couple rushing students... when finally her Master's high cold voice had filled her mind. He had yelled at her, called her an absolute disappointment. The cup had been destroyed, but she was to go and stop Potter from getting access into the Room of Requirement and that would be her last chance at redemption._

An involuntary shiver passed through her as she recalled that moment. She was still finding it difficult to believe that they had lost. Her entire life had been dedicated to that one cause, and now they had lost.

_The quiet hour in the castle as she had sat waiting for her Master to summon her back to where she knew she would be put to death, Bellatrix had contemplated on everything, and that was when she realized the difference in her, as if she had woken up after years of deep sleep. For one she could now see Lord Voldemort's faults, and there were many. They had always been there and she had chosen to turn a blind eye to them; and now she finally knew why... she, Bellatrix had been a guardian of his Horcrux, a part of his soul which she had safeguarded with all her heart, and which in turn had consumed her to the extent that he possessed her every thought. Oh No! Her love and devotion for the Dark Lord was all real, her belief in his vision of the world unwavering... all true. The Horcrux had merely fed on her genuine emotions._

The night had held even more surprises for her. The Dark Lord had been too preoccupied to punish her and then Harry Potter had literally walked to his death. Countless times Bellatrix had seen Lord Voldemort casually throw the Avada Kedavra curse at people... but never before had she seen him get affected by it himself.

_She had rushed forward when he had fallen back... and he had bodily pushed her away; "I don't need your help Bellatrix"... his words had hurt her more than his physical rejection. He had probably thought she was trying to win back his favour but Morgana knew that was the last thing on her mind. She had done it out of genuine concern and..._

Bellatrix gulped and wiped away an errant tear. She was feeling angry with herself. She had lost control in front of the Mudblood Granger girl, and let herself become vulnerable. Of course she had managed to get back her own, it had really been a last minute improvisation, that kiss. Generally she would be repulsed at the very thought of touching a filthy Mudblood, but fourteen years in Azkaban had her lips taste filthier things. And the expression on the faces of her friends had been worth it. Anyway it was better than nothing, especially since she could not physically hurt the girl.

Bellatrix rubbed her now healed knuckles (courtesy Kingsley, always the gentleman) against her eyes. Not hurting those repulsive creatures had required more restraint from her than she ever thought she possessed. Potter had been right under her nose all the time, just one jet of green light would've done it. When the blood traitor kid had tried to curse her, Bellatrix's first reaction had been to reach out and strangle him till his bulging eyes became slowly lifeless. Instead she had lain there pretending to be Imperiused and brought her emotions under control. But alone in the room with the girl, her trusted wand back in her hand, for a moment she had lost it, effectively putting her entire plan in danger. The urge to kick the life out of Granger had been so strong, or maybe a Crucio or two, or three... but that would have destroyed her entire purpose of handing herself in.

Bellatrix looked down at her chained arms and legs and clenched her jaw. No, she would not do anything stupid... she would be patient and see her plan to the end. The old manic Bellatrix would probably just go and launch herself at Potter, wand be damned! But not this Bellatrix... So she sat and waited, her complete consciousness was concentrated upon a single Word— REVENGE.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the FFRs. **

**Dis: Everything belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Bros. I own nothing, and earn nothing!**

Chapter 7

After-Effects

Hermione Granger hated unsolved puzzles, and currently the biggest puzzle to her was a certain Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermione just couldn't work that woman out. What exactly was she? Insane, yes; Dangerous, definitely; but today she had witnessed a very unexpected side of the witch.

Hermione had first known about Bellatrix from the Daily Prophet, the moving photograph of a mad screaming woman, under the headline announcing her escape from Azkaban. Just her picture had caused an involuntary shiver; and that had to be some feat because not only was Hermione a Gryffindor, she was also someone who had seen a Basilisk and lived to tell the tale. Everything she had later learned about the woman— her role in torturing Neville's parents, Sirius' hatred for her and other stories of atrocities associated with the name Bellatrix Lestrange, had only confirmed her belief that the witch was created-with-care by Lucifer himself.

But witnessing the woman in person for the first time in the Department of Mysteries, Hermione had been terrified beyond words, but at the same time... (for the want of a better word)... Awed! In the first few minutes she had felt a weird attraction to Bellatrix that she had never admitted to anybody, because she wasn't sure if anyone would understand. It wasn't anything physical or sexual or even remotely romantic... _HELL NO! _It was more to do with Bellatrix's persona. Despite being a small framed woman, she seemed to tower over everyone around her; Lucius Malfoy may have led the attack, but there had been no doubt about who the real alpha was.

But then the female had killed Sirius and all this had flown out of the window. And on that fateful night at the Malfoy Manor, Hermione's spite for the woman had become deep rooted hatred. But never in all this time, had she ever imagined Bellatrix as the cold calculative strategist that she had encountered today. But then the insanity had also been there, as had the childishness, not to mention the characteristic sadism... all at the same time. So who actually was this woman? Which side was the true side? It seemed like there were different people in the same woman's body.

Hermione suddenly jerked and looked around wildly, realizing after a few confused seconds that lost in her thoughts, she had walked right past the Headmaster's office. Slowly she backed towards the broken and bandaged up gargoyle sentry.

She had been in the Headmaster's office only once before during her fifth year, and it had not been a pleasant occasion. Fudge had attempted to get Dumbledore arrested.

Speaking of Dumbledore, his frame was currently empty. Hermione's eyes shifted instinctively to the newest portrait on the wall- Professor Severus Snape, whose face was hidden behind a book. She thought about everything Harry had told her about the man, who would've thought Snape was capable of such profound love... Everything she thought she knew about the man had turned on its head. Seriously human beings could be such complicated creatures! Crookshanks was so much easier to deal with. She debated if she should talk to the former teacher; thank him for all his help, though she doubted if a feeble 'thank you' would ever be enough. She cleared her throat significantly, but he ignored her completely. She tried again, he ignored again.

Giving up after a few more seconds, Hermione went over to the massive bookshelf that completely covered the rear wall, from ceiling to floor. Taking out the books from her bag, she used a hover charm to put them on the topmost shelf, pushing to a far corner for good measure.

"Thank you Ms. Granger!"

Hermione jumped at the familiar voice, nearly knocking over a large Sneakoscope. Professor Dumbledore was back in his portrait.

"Professor..." Hermione mumbled, not knowing what else to say. The fact that she had kind-of stolen those books, while the rest of the school was still mourning the man's death, made Hermione chew her lip guiltily. Professor Dumbledore however smiled.

"I really appreciate you returning those books. I appreciate everyone who returns books after reading them, but alas, they are a rare species."

"I'm sorry Sir, I took them without permission."

"No, no Ms. Granger, you needed them, and the unfortunate timing of my demise left a lot unexplained for which I'm sure you are pretty mad at me," Dumbledore said with a knowing smile.

Hermione gulped; _that was only one of the reasons_... she thought; aloud she said, "Sir would you like me to destroy them?"

"Knowledge cannot be destroyed Ms. Granger, book-burnings do not solve any problems. Enlightenment has ways to reach out to those who seek her. You and I will never have any control over that. However the events of history are determined by how and for what purpose the knowledge is used." Hermione quietly absorbed the wise words.

"The Muggle world is familiar to you Ms. Granger, therefore I'm sure you are aware of the science of nuclear energy?"

Now Hermione was surprised; the most respected wizard in the world was discussing thoroughly Muggle scientific revolutionary ideas with her?!... But she quickly nodded.

"Some people use the knowledge to create and others use the same to destroy. I'm pretty sure, there must be scores of other books which give specific instructions on how to make a Horcrux, but the knowledge needs to be preserved also for those who want to stop this abomination of the gift of magic. In other words, people like you Ms. Granger... You have done excellently, I could not have been more proud. Harry would never reach his goal without your help."

Hermione smiled; you couldn't help smiling when the greatest wizard in the world paid you a compliment.

"Sir have you heard about... umm... everything? About everything that happened after the war I mean?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Yes Ms. Granger... I pretty much know everything, the good and the bad."

Hermione bit her lip and nodded, wondering what else to say. But after a pause Dumbledore spoke again.

"Andromeda's actions against the Order were shocking, but then I have always had reservations about her. Those three sisters, Ms. Granger I have taught them so I know, they were never really thick, but they never gave up on each other either."

"But Andromeda had been disowned by her family, made an outcast for daring to love! Then blackmailed into acting against us," Hermione said bitterly.

"Which is what led my guard down I suppose. But I will tell you this, in my long life Ms. Granger, mothers I have learnt are the fiercest of creations. One never really knows what their love will make them do... It is a most unfortunate situation Ms. Granger; even if Andromeda was to live, we could neither forgive her, nor really blame her," Dumbledore said.

"I suppose so," Hermione agreed. "But Professor, I'm worried about what the ultimate solution to this problem is going to be. This selective truth, telling Ted half-the-story, and the other half to Mr and Mrs Weasley, I'm afraid, this will only complicate everything later on."

"I agree Ms. Granger. My own follies have proven that no truth may be hidden forever." Dumbledore said sadly; Hermione felt awkward, knowing he was referring to his own life.

"But also remember that every revelation has its own moment. I will advice full disclosure no matter how difficult the repercussions might be... But, at the right time! And now is not that time my dear lady; as you will see soon, the end of a war, brings about more trouble after the momentary peace... there is still lots to be done. I have faith in you and your friends, everything will be fine."

There was something so reassuring about the wise old man, his words, and his presence (even if only in a portrait) that Hermione finally felt the calmest she had in a very long time. She mulled over the man's words.

"Ms. Granger? Is there something else you want to tell me?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes felt like they were piercing her, reading every thought. Hermione wondered if she should discuss Bellatrix and her own inhibitions, but she had seen Dumbledore express more dislike for the dark witch than he had done for Voldemort himself. And Bellatrix had played an active part in plotting his murder...

"No Sir, nothing else that I can think of," she said finally. Dumbledore continued looking at her, and Hermione felt very uncomfortable under that scrutinizing gaze.

"Umm... so then...ah... I should leave now Sir?"

"One moment Ms. Granger! I hope you still have the other book with you...'Tales of Beedle the Bard'?"

"Oh yes Sir, I have it right here." Hermione patted her bag. Dumbledore nodded happily.

"Good, keep it safely, something tells me it still has a role to play."

Hermione was intrigued, but Dumbledore continued.

"Now, I want you to remember three things Ms. Granger... Firstly, where there is love, however little and in whichever form, there is still hope."

Hermione frowned and opened her mouth but Dumbledore interrupted her again.

"Secondly the path to greatness requires sacrifices; And... Finally if you wait for universal approval, you will have to wait forever!"

"Sir... what do— "

"Remember my words Ms. Granger, I have a feeling they will answer many questions for you in future... Now I think you should go back to your friends, the world awaits their Golden Girl after all," Dumbledore chuckled.

Hermione might not have interacted much with Dumbledore on a personal level, but from years of Harry's recounts she knew that the man imparted information purely on a need-to-know basis. And if Dumbledore did not want to give an answer, even Merlin could not make him do so. So bottling up the numerous questions burning inside her, she nodded to the man, then glancing once more at Snape's portrait she turned and left the office. The door closed behind her, and she thought she heard muffled voices; but she had already stepped on the stairs moving down, so she had to leave the Headmaster's office, with more questions than answers.

_**BUT... **_

_**If Hermione would've eavesdropped, she would witness a most interesting conversation. The moment the door had closed, Severus Snape shut his book and frowned at Dumbledore's portrait. **_

"_**If I may assume correctly Dumbledore, it sounds as if Ms. Granger is your next victim to the cause of 'the greater good'." **_

_**Dumbledore, who was now choosing a toffee from a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans did not look up as he said, "Ms. Granger is an exceptionally gifted witch, I'm sure she'll do well in life."**_

"_**Evasive answer, so I'm definitely right," Snape sighed. "Granger's the next scapegoat! What about Potter?" **_

"_**Harry has played his part well, as have everyone else. And Severus my friend, I am but a dead man in a photo-frame, I have no power over the workings of the universe!"**_

"_**Sometimes Dumbledore you can be worse than the centaurs," Snape said annoyed. "Why can you never give a simple answer to a simple question?"**_

_**Dumbledore did not reply as he carefully popped a bean into his mouth and chewed slowly; then suddenly he beamed. "Oho, Black Currant! This is why one should never lose hope Severus!" he cried joyously. Snape stood up from his chair in frustration and strode out of the frame. **_

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Narcissa Malfoy stood staring at her elder sister, the Order members were anxiously waiting for her statement.

It seemed peace of mind was still a far cry for her. Hogwarts had sent summons for Narcissa, the letter stating that her witness was required regarding "a matter of great urgency". Convinced that it was just the Ministry's ruse to have them arrested, Lucius had immediately insisted that they all go into hiding. But Narcissa was done with being scared, especially when her dear son had sat pale and unmoving in a corner of the manor hall ever since they had arrived. The Matriarch had tried everything to get Draco to respond, but the boy had remained impassive. He was clearly still in shock and she burned to know what had happened in the school. They couldn't possibly imprison Draco, he had not participated in the war, he had not killed anybody; and for all their faults, the other side was not merciless like the Dark Lord. They would never destroy an innocent boy, one who was merely a victim of circumstances and under severe pressure from his own family. It had been their— his parents' fault... Lucius and Narcissa had chosen wrong. And if their punishment ensured Draco's acquittal, she would not hesitate to offer herself. Her husband however, had not shared her view. He had furiously argued that they all disappear, while the Order and Ministry was still reorganizing themselves, because there was no way any of them would be shown any mercy. When Narcissa still refused to obey, he had rebuked her for being stupid.

"When you realize your folly, hopefully you will wish to rejoin with me. When that time comes, you know how to get in touch."

With these words, he had disapparated without a single look back. Draco had watched this furious exchange between his normally always put-together parents with a dazed look on his face, and then quietly retired to his room and locked himself in. Crying all the time in the privacy of her chambers, Lady Malfoy had got herself ready, her thoughts flowing a mile in a minute. She had argued and counter-argued with herself, twice on the verge of cancelling her plans, taking Draco and following her husband. But some deep wisdom within her told her that surrender would be the best option she could hope for.

All her way to the school she had mentally placed arguments and points that would work in Draco's favour, hoping ardently that this was not really the trap Lucius had warned her about. But on reaching the school, she had been dumbfounded by the real reason why she had been summoned.

"... She claims we mistook Andromeda for her. We need you to confirm this is indeed your eldest sister and not some imposter. We need you to identify Bellatrix Lestrange..."

As they walked her down corridor after corridor, Narcissa had tried to grasp on to the tornado of information that had been told. Andy died? Blackmailed into betraying the Order? She had no clue whatsoever; she had hardly ever seen her older sister, except for the occasional secretly signed letter or the annual unnamed Christmas card. Never had she imagined... but then Bella hardly ever shared any secret that her precious master entrusted her with. Had not Lucius always complained that he could be a much better second-in-command to Lord Voldemort than a mentally retarded woman; the constant rivalry between her husband and sister had always been a thorn on her side in the initial days, with Narcissa having to play pacifier before something or someone got burned down.

But nothing, not even Andromeda's secret could surprise Narcissa more than the revelation that Bellatrix was still alive. Though she had not been there to witness the supposed duel that everyone was talking about, Narcissa had, from the moment she got news of the Dark Lord's demise, been convinced that her eldest sister had died in battle, because for one thing, Lord Voldemort could not have been harmed while his most loyal follower was still standing; and if by some impossible possibility he did, Bellatrix would currently be taking down enemies by masses, Hogwarts would have been burning to the ground and the war would still be on. So the idea that the woman was alive and had surrendered seemed simply unbelievable to Narcissa.

However, every conviction flew out of the stain-glassed window when her eyes met with the woman chained to the stone beam... the black half-armour half-dress that Bellatrix never seem to get out of, the cascading curls, darker than night itself and the menacing demeanour all firmly in place. But all Narcissa had to do was look into those dark eyes, and she knew without a doubt that this was her fearsome and miraculously alive eldest sister indeed.

"It is her," Narcissa's voice was barely above a whisper.

"How can you be sure?" someone asked her. _Because I know those eyes; I have seen those black pools widen in childlike delight, warm with affection... and I have seen them become harder than ice, colder than death. _

"I just know," she said aloud.

"Ask her something only the real Bellatrix Lestrange will know," someone else said to her. Narcissa contemplated for several minutes.

"What form does your Patronus take?" she finally asked, her voice filled with trepidation. The glare she got in reply could melt the entire North Pole. Narcissa instinctively took a step back but did not look away.

"Cissy!" Bellatrix hissed; the warning in her voice ringing out clear.

"Answer her question," Minerva McGonagall immediately said. "If you are Bellatrix you will know this."

Bellatrix clenched her jaw, her eyes burning with fury. After what seemed forever, Bellatrix at last whispered through gritted teeth.

"It does not take any form..."

"You mean it is not corporeal?" Kingsley asked, trying not to sound surprised. Bellatrix looked at Narcissa, who had not yet given her nod of approval.

"No, I mean I do not have a Patronus of any form... I CANNOT CAST A PATRONUS CHARM." Bellatrix shouted. "Satisfied?" she then snarled at her sister.

Narcissa nodded. "It is true. There is only one spell in the world that Bella cannot do and it is the Patronus charm. Only I knew that."

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

Professor Dumbledore was right as usual of course, the problems were far away from being over.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had been enjoying tea at Hagrid's, avoiding his infamous rock cakes and exchanging stories of their adventures of the last year. Hermione however had had another bout of argument with her friends who refused to share her worries regarding Bellatrix. As far as they were concerned the dark witch had been captured and was going to be put in Azkaban for life. Harry, Ron and even Hagrid seemed eager to just get back to normal life. As such they had rebuffed Hermione's fears and blamed them to her habit of over thinking. Miffed by this, Hermione was just contemplating going back to the castle, when a school owl had carried a message for them.

"_**Dear Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley, **_

_**I wish you three did not keep disappearing; searching becomes even more difficult with half the castle in ruins. **_

_**All Three of You are to immediately return to the Gryffindor common room. I do not know where you currently are, but please use one of the side entrances. Speak to no one who is NOT a student or staff. Avoid the Great Hall at all costs. And come back IMMEDIATELY please. **_

_**Yours sincerely, **_

_**Prof M. McGonagall**_

Harry groaned, but Hermione became slightly nervous; _what had happened now?_

"Blimey, this does not sound good. She sounds frownier than usual," Ron grumbled.

All their way back they discussed various possibilities of why this sudden urgent summon had come and why had they been told to avoid the great hall. Had someone attacked them again? Did someone else die? Did some friend come back from the dead?

_Did Bellatrix escape?_ Hermione thought fearfully.

Mid-way through the corridor in true Harry-fashion Harry suggested the only way to find out was to check the great hall. But McGonagall had specifically asked them to stay away from that very place. But then when had rules and commands ever been taken into consideration where the three of them were involved. And it would just be a sneak peak... what could go wrong?

As they cautiously neared the great hall they heard a rumbling of voices, actually many many voices coming from within. The three exchanged curious glances, why were there so many people in there? The school was supposed to be almost empty by now. So how was the Great Hall emitting the hum of numerous voices?

And what more, hiding behind the partly shut doors, they realized the voices were not really conversational, there was an obvious hostile tone in them. Hermione peeped over Harry's head through one of the doors, while Ron positioned himself on the other side... and all three mouths simultaneously fell open. Scores and scores of reporters with notepads, megaphones and cameras were jostling each other to get their way across. There were also others who seemed to have come to join the excitement. Following their collective attention, Hermione finally looked up at the Teacher's high table; or what used to be the teachers' table, and which was now filled with a number of strangers.

Well to Hermione at least they were strangers but soon Ron's strangled whisper sounded.

"Blimey, that's Dmitri Ivanov, Head Treasurer... and that's Cresswal, Chief-counselor Magical Law... Frieda Hansen, Percy's new boss... and Merlin's pants! Is that..."

"What the..." Hermione hissed out when her eyes too locked on the man who had caught Ron's attention, an all too familiar lime green bowler hat standing out.

"Cornelius Fudge!" Harry breathed out through clenched teeth. "What the hell are they doing here?"

"Beats me! Where's dad?"

But they could not try and locate Mr. Weasley because at that very moment, a blinding flash momentarily impeded their vision. But a shriek did reach their ears.

"Look it's them... the Golden Trio!"

Before either of them could even make out what the hell was going on, the door had been pushed open by a throng of people and the three found themselves surrounded by about a hundred or so people. Hermione went from feeling stunned to scared to angry in a matter of seconds as numerous cameras continued to flash at her, multiple voices screaming all together... they could be congratulating, or abusing or threatening or praising... Hermione couldn't have told the difference.

The Ministry officials had come down from the dais but they seemed apprehensive to approach the crowd in the fear of getting trampled, all except Kingsley who shoved his way forward trying to get the three away. Meanwhile someone was trying to wring Hermione's hand out of her body, she screamed in shock and pain.

"Oi Moron! Let go of her!" Ron yelled from her side. But that was all he could do as he himself was being attacked and poked by megaphones as reporters screamed question after question at them. Hermione tried to find Harry and looked around in time to see him drown under about fifty people trying to crowd hug him.

After what seemed like hours (but were really several minutes) and the joint efforts of Kingsley and his team, and a few Hogwarts teachers, Hermione and her friends were finally dragged out of the Great Hall. A couple of the senior Ministry officials had insisted that Harry should meet the press, but the boy himself had completely disagreed to the idea. Ron had punched a reporter when he asked how he felt about losing his brother in the war... Hermione had to stop Harry from doing something similar to another overexcited rookie with a megaphone. Instead after a hurried discussion with the boys, she had asked Kingsley to be their spokesperson and allowed her teachers to take them away from the place. Even that had not been so easy; there had been more pushing, threatening and a bit of hexing involved; at the end of it they all looked like there had been another war. 'Civil society' could sometimes be worse than war-crazy soldiers.

...

"Explain yourselves!" McGonagall's voice was cracking with fury. "Or more specifically explain which part of my note, that clearly requested you to stay away from the Great Hall did you not understand."

Harry tried to mumble things, while Hermione bit her lip and looked down at her shoes. She hated disappointing Prof. McGonagall.

"Dad!" Ron's voice made Hermione look up. Arthur Weasley had rushed into the Gryffindor common room.

"I had asked them not to go there Arthur, but after seven years I should have known they would do exactly what is forbidden." McGonagall sounded tired. Arthur nodded grimly but before he could say anything, Harry spoke urgently.

"Mr. Weasley, but what was going on there?"

"Harry, we do realize that you, Ron and Hermione have done a great favour to the wizarding world. No amount of gratitude will ever be enough. You have earned respect and authority. But you must also realize that things are far from smooth, and we aren't exactly doddering old fools; we have nothing but your best wishes at heart. So maybe it will be easier for all of us if you took our requests into consideration in future."

Somehow Mr. Weasley's quiet voice made Hermione burn deeper with guilt than McGonagall's angry outburst had done. Chancing a glance at her friends she saw the boys looking equally red.

"As for what is happening downstairs is that the Ministry finds itself without a leader. If Dumbledore had been alive, there would have been no confusion about who to look towards, but as things stand now, the Ministry is in a mess. In the last year, Death Eaters have either killed or driven away most of the people who did not sympathize with their cause; only a few remain but the trouble is we do not know who they are. There were people who willingly went over to the other side, and there were others who were coerced, blackmailed or Imperiused, we still do not know who to trust. In short it is all messed up. And consequently the department heads are making use of the situation to make their claim on the seat for Minister."

"People died here Mr. Weasley... and they are fighting over petty power offices? Hermione said, her voice hysterical with disbelief. "Where were they when we were fighting Death Eaters and Dementors and giants and spiders and Gods know what not! Minister for Magic? I mean really? Our dead have even not been buried yet!"

"That's politics Ms. Granger," McGongall said sadly. "They will milk even death."

"They are as bad as Voldemort," Harry said. Hermione agreed wholeheartedly.

Kingsley walked into the room at that moment, with Dawlish in tow. "It's done Professor," he addressed Prof. McGonagall. "As soon as the students evacuate, we will be ready to move the prisoners to Malfoy Manor."

"To Malfoy Manor? Why Malfoy Manor?" Harry frowned.

"Yeah why not just throw them in Azkaban and let them rot there for life," Ron said bitterly.

Meaningful glances were exchanged followed by a revelation that did not make a satisfying picture. In the second attack on the Wizard Prison, the Death Eaters had destroyed Azkaban completely. It would take time to rebuild, even with magic. Until then the prisoners would be kept at Malfoy Manor, and Lady Malfoy had agreed to cooperate. Having been there herself, Hermione knew the mansion was indeed a fortress, protective enchantments in every corner, it was practically impregnable. But they had managed to escape from there as well right? So it was not impossible. Harry said aloud what Hermione had been thinking.

"But we had escaped from that place Kingsley... Dobby had helped (Harry visibly swallowed here)... and most Death Eaters are from pure blood families. They probably have house-elves who will..."

Kingsley had raised his hand to quieten him. "Don't worry about it Harry, we have provided the place every additional protection required. Our men are already there, taking care of everything. And honestly we do not have anywhere else to keep them. The Ministry is too public a place, and Hogwarts is at its most vulnerable. This is our only option. The entire basement of the Malfoy manor is being transformed into a temporary prison. Hopefully we will have the original prison ready within a month."

"And what has Narcissa Malfoy asked for in return?" Hermione asked shrewdly; there had to be a catch somewhere.

"Well she requested for Draco Malfoy to be acquitted." Kingsley said in a non-committal voice. Hermione and Ron both looked at Harry, who was looking grave, but when he spoke they were surprised.

"Well he did not really do anything to be imprisoned for life, but I suppose that is not for us to decide. I would however like to request Narcissa Malfoy to be acquitted as well. She is the reason I'm standing here alive. I will testify if need be."

But as the basic law and order structure seemed to have broken down completely, nothing seemed to be guaranteed anymore. They could only hope that this time they would have as Minister, a person capable enough to handle this mammoth task of rebuilding their world.

Despite continued arguments between the various department heads, they had finally conceded to divide their duties, for now.

The wounded and their families had been the first to be shifted to St. Mungo's, then the rest were seen off on the Hogwarts Express. Hogsmeade had been made anti-apparition zone for safety purposes. And only a few elderly people were allowed to Floo back from Hogwarts. Neville and his grandmother had decided to accompany Luna to the Wizard Hospital. Augusta Longbottom wanted to visit her son and daughter-in-law and tell them how proud their son had made them. Neville wanted to tell his parents that they had been avenged. Hermione, Harry and Ron had avoided meeting his eyes.

The coffins were being transported by the Thestral-drawn carriages; Molly Weasley had left in one of the last of those carriages along with George, Bill, Fleur and Ginny, as they took Fred's body home.

Harry and Hermione had decided not to follow the Weasleys to the Burrow, and Ron was not happy about it. She and Harry explained to him that they needed some privacy to grieve. Ron insisted that they were very much family, and Mr. Weasley had said the same, but Harry and Hermione were adamant. The Weasleys had always made them feel welcome but technically they were still outsiders and it would be rude to intrude upon them at this time of grief. They had lost a son the same day Percy returned to them. Ron himself had been away for almost a year, it could not have been easy for Mr. And Mrs. Weasley.

They promised to join them in two days for Fred's funeral.

"But you can't be staying in this ruin till then?" Ron exclaimed incredulously.

"I will be taking Hermione to Grimmauld Place," Harry replied. Ron looked even more troubled.

"What?" Hermione barked, daring him to voice the doubts she knew was cropping up in his mind. But Ron blanched at her tone.

"N-Nothing... nothing; well if you've already decided, I guess I'll see you in two days," he shrugged, and then dragged his feet to follow Mr. Weasley to the fireplace. Hermione's flickering irritation immediately vanished when right before he stepped into the fire, Ron turned towards her and mouthed "love you"... And then he was gone. Hermione sighed, he could not have chosen a more wrong time to say the words, but still a first time was always a first time. Then she realized she was yet to tell him; she frowned, how come it had never occurred to her... she resolved to tell him the first chance she got.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

The Aurors led Bellatrix and the other prisoners down the corridors. Most of the chained captives were ordinary foot soldiers, some of whom Bella knew had merely acted upon the Imperius curse. The real culprits had mostly all escaped, including that scum Malfoy, Rookwood, Yaxley and Rabastan and that filthy wolf Greyback. Dolohov may be a bastard but Bella gave him credit for sticking around till the end. Rabastan's chickening out had left her surprised, but then he might be dead and lying somewhere under the broken castle for all she knew.

The chained Death Eaters either scurried or had to be slouched and had to be pushed forward every few steps. Bellatrix of course strode as if she had just been appointed Headmistress, she managed to even make the shackles look like quirky accessories. Looking around curiously Bellatrix realized they were being led down the passage that led right up to the astronomy tower. She wondered how they would be transporting them. The answered appeared in the form of the old hag McGonagall.

The woman met up with the group led by Shacklebolt and the two had a hurried whispered conversation, something about "just that little patch is where it will work," and something about "to stay within the circle". Then Shacklebolt turned and nodded his head towards his minions who immediately started putting full body-bind curses on all of them. Bellatrix got hit from the back and she felt herself freezing. She really wanted to see the face of the bloke who did it so that she could personally kill him later. Once each of them had been made immobile, their chains were lifted, and Bellatrix realized they would be taken for side-along apparition. Oh well seemed like they were not making any more mistakes.

Then, from somewhere out of her currently limited line of vision, McGonagall's exclaimed.

"I can't believe this! What are you two doing here?"

"Harry wanted to send an owl." The mumbling voice sounded awfully like that Mudblood Granger. But before Bellatrix could dwell on this, something happened. Something that caused a wave of panic to rush through her...

The floor beneath her feet suddenly gave an ominous shake, and everyone abruptly stopped talking. Within a few seconds another more forceful wave hit and Bellatrix could feel the walls around her begin to shake.

"AFTERSHOCKS!" someone yelled from somewhere.

Soon wave upon wave of shocks hit the structure rattling the frames of the thousand year old castle. Everyone was screaming as they tried to make a getaway. Bellatrix would have liked to scream too if she could have. She cursed everything living as the Aurors still refused to remove the spell and instead tried to levitate her body away. But dust had started raining from the ceilings as dangerous cracking sounds surrounded them followed by great chunks of walls and ceiling thundering to the floor. Abandoning all pretensions of duty everyone was running amuck to find any possible exit point. Whoever had been levitating Bellatrix unceremoniously dropped her down and her stiff body landed hard on the stone floor. Bellatrix lay there staring at the ceiling as dust and flakes fell straight on her face. Her eyes were burning and she was suffocating but she could do nothing. And then her stomach knotted as her gaze landed upon something high up. A small part of the corner ceiling had caved in and the pillar beside was slowly leaning in, its cracks deepening with every passing second. If it fell, it would crush her to death.

And for the first time in a long while, Bellatrix prayed...

As if in answer, she suddenly felt her body ease, in a flash two arms had grabbed her and pulled her up, dragging her away. Still trying to get her limbs back into function, the dark witch leaned heavily on the other person. Half-blinded, Bellatrix could hardly recognize the figure except that it was a woman with a lot of bushy brown hair. A deafening crash sounded as the pillar started falling in earnest, right where Bellatrix had been a moment ago. The arms around her gripped her tightly and Bellatrix hugged her right back shutting her eyes. As deafening sound filled up the whole place, Bellatrix found herself and her savior falling sideways, she did not even have the energy to scream. Two words flashed in her head... _Hermione Granger... _and then everything became black.


End file.
